The Water Maiden
by mooseywrites
Summary: All she knew was hatred, war, and the feeling of safety singing brought her. What she didn't know was the impact her singing would have on her future, on the leaf's future.
1. Chapter 1

The Kasai clan's activities were a complete mystery to Konoha. They were the first allies of the Senju which led them to peace. The Kasai clan is known for their powerful and terrifyingly strong fire kekkei genkai. It involved the summoning of fire to their fingertips. Some would say it was beautiful while others would comment on how dangerous it was. The head of the clan, Fudo Kasai, was a strict and proper man. His wife, Ayane Kasai, was originally from the land of sound but had the Kasai blood from her father. She was a princess who possessed a kekkei genkai of her very own. Her voice had the potential to kill anyone. The two had four children. However, the youngest one, Ellie, didn't look like the others in her clan. Instead of warm brown or red hair, she had a very light blue color. She inherited her mother's golden eyes like all of her older siblings. Her kekkei genkai told the entire story. Instead of the flames of red hatred, she had the calm crystal water. It was obvious she was not of the clan.

At the age of five, I knew three things. Everyone, but my oldest brother and mother, hates me. They want nothing but my death. I bet they'd celebrate when they end up killing me. The second thing was that singing was the only thing that made me feel better. I knew I was the only one other than mama that could use my voice as a weapon. Though, I'd only use it to attract the birds and other animals to me. The other thing I knew was war. It was horrible, but it also didn't bother me. I was told it was a necessary evil in the world. It's inevitable. To have peace, there needs to be war. In my eyes, it was beautiful. After all, people were like flowers. When people died, their blood scatters everywhere. The strong that survive only wait until they are killed or wilt.

Every day, I'd see clansmen walk back to the compound with little to no injuries. This is why my clan is feared. They're all strong and aren't allowed to become a genin until they're deemed perfect in my father's eyes. Father is forcing me to take specialized classes that are much harder than normal. It was because of my differences I have to suffer consequences. Father being the clan head made things worse for me. I was only there out of pity. One day, everything seemed to be calmer than usual. I took the opportunity to go take a walk in the woods. There was a small stream that held beautiful fish. I always liked going here to be alone. Before leaving, I made sure my light blue hair and clothing didn't have a single imperfection. I always wore a short, dark blue kimono with white tights and black slips. After I was happy with my appearance, I ventured off to the almost unknown.

At the stream, I crouched down and watched the fish. I was even humming a song mama taught me. They were white and orange with different patterns. Each of them was unique in their own way like people.

"Who are you?" A quiet voice asked. I looked up and saw a boy my age.

"Who are you?" I questioned back. He seemed to be a little flustered.

"I-I asked first." I stood up and tilted my head to the side.

"Why are you so flustered? Do you not know how to talk to a girl?" His cheeks turned a little pink. He looked adorable. I jumped over the small stream, surprising him. The mysterious boy took a few steps back.

"I'm not going to hurt you." "I…" I gave a giggle.

"My name is Ellie Kasai, one of the heirs to the Kasai clan."

He looked surprised. "I'm Itachi Uchiha."

"What are you doing all the way here?" I asked him.

"I needed to go on a walk." He looked awfully down and depressed. I took his hand and walked to the water. Crouching down, I instructed him to do the same. Once he was crouched, I pointed to the fish. "This is why I'm here."

"Fish?" He seemed confused.

"Aren't they pretty?"

He stared for a few seconds. "What's so great about the fish?"

"You mustn't get out much. Look at the colors and patterns."

"What about them?"

"They're all different. They're the same as humans. We're all the same, but with different colors and patterns." His eyes seem to have widened. "See? Sometimes all you need to do is sit back and observe. You'll make more connections with the world around you this way." I started humming the song again out of habit.

"What are you humming?"

"It's a song mama taught me."

"Can you...sing it for me?" I brightened up and stood straight up. I walked onto the water, surprising him even more.

"You can walk on water? I can't even do that." Itachi said with shock.

"I'll tell you a secret if you promise to keep it quiet, alright?" He gave a nod and got closer to me. "I'm not like the other Kasai. I'm affiliated with water instead of fire." I said in a whisper.

"Really?"

I nodded excitedly. "If I let anyone see, I'll get punished. You wouldn't want that to happen, right?" He shook his head. I gave a smile before singing. The song itself wasn't a children's song. It was the elegy of the world. As my hands and arms moved, water started to follow my fingertips like a puppet. Itachi was in pure awe as he watched. His eyes followed me whenever I moved. When I finished the song, a butterfly landed on my finger tip. I looked at Itachi with a smile.

"Did you like it?"

"I loved it. It was beautiful. I've never seen anything like it before."

"I'm glad." We heard someone call for Itachi. "I have to go. Will you be here tomorrow?" "I might."

Since then, the two of us have been secretly meeting at that same stream. We'd talk about random things on some days and on others, I'd watch Itachi practice.

"What do you think of war?" Itachi suddenly asked me out of the blue. He looked way too serious for his own good.

"Why?"

"Just answer the question."

I looked up at the sky and hummed. "War is terrifying. War is traumatizing. War is beautiful. War is necessary."

"Why?" He questioned quietly.

"You won't like my reasoning, Itachi. Do you really want to know?"

"Not really…" His voice was soft. He looked defeated.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have answered that way." I said sadly.

"It's not your fault. You don't need to apologize."

"It probably wasn't the answer you wanted, huh?" He got embarrassed and looked away. I stood up and stretched. "I have to leave soon. I won't be back for a while."

"Why?"

"My grandfather is coming."

"Are you visiting him then?" I gave a soft smile. Itachi didn't know of the horrors of my clan. It's for the best he didn't know. "It's something like that."

"Can you sing me something before you leave?"

"You're becoming rather demanding, aren't you?"

A week later, master, otherwise known as my grandfather, arrived. Almost everyone in the clan calls him such. He was the one that hated me more than anything in the world. His arrival was delayed because of the war. However, thanks to the war ending, he made it. It was the only time I wished for war to be longer. My family stood in line, waiting for father to come in with master. When they entered, we all felt master's overpowering aura. It made my three siblings flinch. They walked over to see us, mostly to see if master approved of us. None of us smiled. Master took one look at me and threw me into the wall. None of my siblings moved. Not even my own mother moved. It was too dangerous for anyone to move. His word is absolute and if he wanted any of us dead, no one could fight it. "I expect you gone by tonight. If not, I will have you killed. Be thankful I'm in a good mood." That night, I sat next to my pond with my legs in the water. Weird enough, I was given the house in the back of the compound which happened to be the largest. I was grateful for it since it had a good sized pond in the back.

"Is she here?" A voice in the distance startled me. It was one of master's men. I looked down and pushed myself into the water without a sound. I kept swimming deeper. I took a breath and hummed my song.

Itachi was infatuated with his new friend. Ellie was different from anyone he's ever met. It wasn't just her looks that made her unique. She looks at things in a strange way. Itachi has been using her way of seeing the world and has noticed a lot more. He saw everyone in a different light. He could see how some people in the village were evil. It was exactly like she said. Everyone is different despite looking the same. Everyone had something specific about them. At home, Itachi would get stressed from the constant pressure of his father's training. During those times, Itachi would think of Ellie's songs. They always calmed him down and brought him to a Zen like state. She was full of mysteries, but he'd keep her identity hidden. She was his first and only friend.

"What's the long look? Can't go see your girlfriend today?" Itachi's face turned red from his mother's words.

"She isn't my girlfriend." Itachi replied with shock.

"So you really are seeing a girl on your walks." Itachi gave a gasp. His mother caught him red handed.

"Who is it? Is she pretty? She must be if she caught your attention."

"She's just a friend. Nothing more." Itachi replied stubbornly.

"I still want to know who it is." Itachi shook his head.

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

"You can tell me anything, Itachi. If you want, I can keep it a secret between us." He shook his head again. "Is she from a clan?"

"I'm not telling you anything."

"Why not?" His mother asked, worried for how her son was acting.

He looked down at his lap. "If I tell you, she'll get punished. I don't want that to happen." Makoto hugged her son, adoring his loyalty to his friend.

"I'm glad you made a friend, Itachi. I'm even happier you're protecting her even though you're defying me. I won't say anything. I just want to know the name of my son's friend."

"Ellie." Makoto's eyes widened, knowing exactly who Ellie was. That's when she saw just how terrified he was. He really cared for Ellie and didn't want anything bad to happen to her. She relaxed and smiled, squeezing her son even tighter. "That's wonderful. I'm happy you made a friend."

Itachi wasn't the class favorite at the academy. None of the kids liked him because he was better than them. He sat in class and looked around. After giving a big sigh, he slouched in his chair. It's been a week since he hasn't seen Ellie. If his father knew how he felt, he'd tell Itachi it isn't shinobi-like to be depressed over a single girl. Even so, Itachi still felt lonely. Ellie was the only one that he could be himself with. She knew things that he wanted to learn about. Even in class, they were never told to look at things differently. Itachi wondered why Ellie didn't go to the academy. She could stand on water which was something that is taught when they're genin. She'd be able to graduate with ease. After class, his teacher kept him back.

"Is everything alright, Itachi? You've been looking really down lately."

"I'm fine, sensei." Itachi replied in a robotic tone.

The man stared at Itachi and shook his head. "You don't need to lie. What's bothering you?"

"Can…I speak honestly?"

"Of course you can."

"Why aren't we taught to look at things differently?"

This seemed to surprise his teacher. "This is the way shinobi of the leaf think, Itachi. Do you see something wrong with that?"

Itachi tensed up and regretted even asking. "Well…"

"I won't be mad. I'm curious about what you think."

"I'm confused about war." His teacher gave a warm smile.

"That's normal to be confused at your age. Even old men like me are confused about war. What do you find confusing about it?" His teacher figured it must be because of Itachi's relatives telling war stories. It was common that clan children knew about war, but they hardly questioned it like Itachi.

"Why do people fight if all it does is cause pain and suffering? It creates a never ending cycle."

His teacher was stunned with Itachi's word. He knew Itachi was always smart, but he never showed this kind of deep thinking before. "I'm not the best person to talk to. How about we go to the hokage? I'm sure he'd be able to explain this better than me."

Itachi held his head down. "Will I get in trouble?"

His teacher chuckled quietly. "You won't. I'm glad you came to me about this. It tells me you're thinking about the future."

Minato was surprised to have a visit from one of the academy's teachers and its student. "Forgive the intrusion, sir."

"That's alright. Is something wrong?" Minato looked at the Uchiha heir with confusion.

"He came to me and asked about war. I thought you'd be the best one to explain to him." The teacher explained the situation briefly.

Minato gave Itachi a smile to make him feel at ease. "I'd be glad to." Once the teacher left, Minato stood up. "Let's take a walk." Itachi gave a timid nod and followed Minato to the roof of the building.

"Do you not like war, Itachi?"

"Nothing about it makes sense. It makes a vicious cycle that will repeat over and over."

"I'm guessing you've seen the horrendous side of war, huh?" Itachi only nodded. He himself has seen his own family suffer and die from the war.

"Why have you been thinking of this?"

"Someone said something about war that I'm confused about."

"What did that person say?"

"War is beautiful and necessary. War is terrifying and traumatizing." Itachi repeated the words he was told by Ellie.

Minato looked almost stunned at the words. "In some ways, your friend is right. You see, I was in the war and lost a lot of comrades and even two from my genin team. It's terrifying and traumatizing. In order to have peace, war can be necessary. I wonder why your friend said it was beautiful."

Itachi stared at the entire village. Why would Ellie say war is beautiful? He saw a bird eat a bug and found it odd. Minato stared at the boy as he observed the bird. To Itachi, this was just the way life worked. Did that mean Ellie thought the same about war? Itachi's eyes widened slightly. This is how Ellie thought.

"Did you come to a conclusion?" Itachi gave a single nod. "War is the same as when that bird ate the bug."

"Why do you think that?" Minato asked, genuinely curious. This was his first interaction with the Uchiha heir after all. It was good to know how the future generation thought.

"Everyone who dies is replaced. It is part of the cycle of life which in some way is beautiful."

"That sounds a little cruel."

"It is but I know it's what my friend would say. I didn't want to hear the explanation because I thought their view would be the same as mine. I was scared. Maybe I was in the wrong." Itachi pondered.

"You're entitled to your own opinion. It's good to be able to see things in other views. It's also good to acknowledge your friend's view."

Itachi made a noise and furrowed his brows with confusion. "Sensei said we aren't taught to look at things differently because this is the way shinobi of the leaf learn."

Minato gave a gentle smile. "We don't teach it in the academy because you're all still too young to understand. Just because the academy doesn't teach it, doesn't mean you can't learn on your own. In fact, I encourage you to keep looking at things differently. Maybe you and your friend can do some exercises together."

"Why involve my friend?"

Minato didn't know what to think. Who was this friend Itachi talked so highly of? Was this person in the academy? "From the way your friend thinks, I can deduce they go to the academy. It'll further you two for the future."

"My friend…isn't in the academy." Itachi admitted quietly.

"Do you know why?" "I don't." "Still, I'm sure you can complete the exercises."

When Itachi left with a few scrolls, Minato gave a small smile. That boy was a pacifist at heart despite his immense, raw skill. It almost worried him. The door opened and Kakashi walked in. This was another problem Minato had. Kakashi was as cold hearted as ever.

"I've completed the mission without any trouble, sir." Kakashi replied in a cold, monotone voice.

"That's good." Minato was handed the report and gave a small sigh after he read the report. "Kakashi, you can't just go attack the enemy like that. You'll end up getting yourself killed."

"I completed the mission." Minato pinched the bridge of his nose with slight frustration. "Sir?"

"Let's go take a walk." Kakashi stayed silent and followed his previous sensei.

"Where are we going?"

"I want to see something. I got a visit by the Uchiha heir. His thinking is that of someone of your level. Apparently, his friend has been showing him how to think that way."

"Do you think it could be an enemy?" Kakashi questioned.

"I'm not sure." Minto replied honestly.

The two walked until they heard Itachi. "The hokage spoke to me about what you taught me. He said it's good I'm thinking this way." The two men looked at each other and nodded. They quietly hid their chakra and watched from afar. "He gave us these exercises to complete."

"They're too easy." A girl's voice said. This intrigued the two hiding.

"Really?" Itachi sounded surprised.

"You'd have to be an idiot not to get it."

"Oh…"

"It's okay if you don't get it."

"Why do you get this easily when I struggle? You don't even go to the academy."

The girl giggled lightly. It was strangely melodic. "The academy takes up too much time drilling in rules."

"Huh?" This left not only Itachi confused, but Minato and Kakashi as well.

"They don't teach you how to look at the world. No matter how unfair things may be, it's all part of the cycle that we'll fall victim to. Even I will fall one day."

"Still…"

"You may be a skilled fighter, but you'll always be empty without understanding. Why do you think there are mindless shinobi ready to give up their life for their village? Nothing good will come out of that. They'll fight for their entire life for what? Because their leader told them to? They don't question if it's right of wrong. Soldiers get degraded to animals that way." The words were sharp, but had truth.

"Animals like wolfs follow the leader. What makes us different?" Itachi challenged the girl.

She chuckled and walked to Itachi. She poked his forehead. "Humans are superior because of our conscious and free will to think. It's also our free will that will lead to our fall ." Itachi's eyes widened. "You see, my dear friend, we're only numbers to be put in books. When you die on the battlefield, you won't be remembered as Itachi Uchiha. You'll be known as the one of the hundreds to die in a war."

Minato looked at the blue haired girl with shock. Her words were cruel and mature for her age. Minato looked at Kakashi and saw him tensed.

"Even so…" Itachi couldn't comprehend what his friend was saying

"Life is cruel. You end up remembering all the bad memories instead of the good. What do you think soldiers think of when they reflect on their life?"

"The war?" Itachi questioned with hardly any confidence.

The girl nodded with the smallest of smiles. "I guess you really do listen to me." Her chuckle made Itachi's cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

"You're my only friend. Of course I'd listen to you."

"You think of me as a friend?" She was surprised.

Itachi nodded. "Don't you have friends?" Itachi asked.

"I don't even really know what a friend is. I've only read about it in books." This surprised the three.

"Really?"

"My parents don't like me outside the compound so I'm naïve of the outside world."

"Why don't they let you out?"

In that instance, a large, booming voice echoed. "Trash! Where the hell are you?" Itachi looked a little shaken up.

"That would be my father. I have to go before I get punished. I might see you tomorrow, Itachi. Don't let them turn you into a blind bat." She gave a final smile before running away. Minato knew that booming voice was the Kasai clan leader. He didn't know they had a fourth child. There were rumors, but for them to be true meant the clan was hiding something from the entire village.

"Sir?" Kakashi questioned once Itachi left.

"Let's go back, Kakashi."


	2. Chapter 2

Itachi Uchiha is easy to manipulate. If you tell him something that sounds the most logical, he'll believe it. From everything I told him, he should be fine. The shinobi life isn't meant for him at all. Yet, he's forced to engage in the life style by his family. This leaves me to think about the curse of hatred Itachi has spoken of. Some think it's a myth, but I've experienced how real it is. Even though it wasn't the Uchiha's curse, the Kasai's curse was stronger and more threatening.

"What's wrong, Kappa?" I looked up from my pond in my backyard and saw my big brother Hiro. He was the oldest and was my light in the dark clan. He had long spiky red hair and the same gold eyes I have. It felt like he was the only one on my side other than mom.

"I'm just thinking about how to drown you."

"Is that so? How about we go and take a trip to the library?"

"The shinobi library?"

"Yeah! I'll even get you a scroll for a new jutsu."

Excitement bubbled up in me. I started spinning from happiness until I thought about the repercussions I'd face if I was caught. I couldn't predict what father would have me do or do to me.

"What's wrong, El?" Hiro looked worried, knowing something was wrong.

"What does father think of this?"

"Honestly, he doesn't want you out. Let's just say your big brother got father to agree to let you out today and whenever you want."

"What?! Whenever I want? I can go to other bodies of water in the village?" Hiro chuckled and ruffled the top of my head.

"That's right. Let's go before it gets too late."

"You got it!" I put my hair up in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon and wore a knee length purple kimono with gold accents. Mom always wanted me to look beautiful no matter what. Even if I never showed my face, she still wanted me presentable.

"Ready, Kappa?" "I always am." Hiro picked me up and jumped over the walls of the compound so I wouldn't have to face the rest of the clan and their hateful glares.

In the village, people stopped what they were doing to stare at me with shock. It was as if I was a hideous monster that was walking right through town.

"Who's that girl?" A man whispered to his wife.

"Is she the rumored child from the Kasai clan?" Another woman asked her friend in a hushed tone.

"She's beautiful, but she was born not of her clan blood." I could hear everything they said. It didn't matter how soft they whispered.

Now I remember why I hated going out. People always gossiped about me and mother. I didn't care if they talked about me. I'm no one important. However, I hated the way they'd talk about mother. Hiro put a hand on my head to bring my attention and focus onto him.

"We're here." I spun in a circle at the entrance. Inside, Hiro kept me close to his side until we were fully inside.

"I'm going to look at some fire scrolls. Water is on the other side. If you need my help, call for me."

"Okay, big brother." I walked to the other side and looked at the abundance of water scrolls. There wasn't a lot compared to the fire section. It made sense since we are in the fire country.

There were too many to choose from. It was as if a child stood in a candy store. Everything looked too good to just choose one. The scrolls looked like no one has touched them. I guess not a lot of shinobi want to learn any water jutsu.

"Do you need help finding something?" I turned and saw the hokage.

"I-I'm looking for a water jutsu." I stuttered out quietly.

"I didn't know they allowed you to learn jutsus in the academy." Why did I feel like he knew more than what he was letting on? His voice was care-free, but he chose his words carefully.

"I'm not in the academy." I said with honesty.

"You shouldn't be looking for scrolls at a young age. You still need to learn about chakra control." What could I say to the hokage? I gave a big smile and leaned on my right side with my arms behind me back. I was completely relaxed. I had to be.

"It's never too early to start looking at the principles of a jutsu."

"That is certainly true. How about I teach you one?" Why did he want to do that? Why can't he just leave?!

"Are you sure? You are the hokage after all. Shouldn't you be busy with work?" I asked, hoping he'd leave me be.

"I am, but this can be done on my breaks. You seem like you'd be easy to teach." His body relaxed once he thought he had me in the palm of his hand. His chakra had relaxed as well. My suspicion was right. He was the presence the other day. I gave another innocent smile.

"Why do you say that? You don't even know what I can do. That is unless you've been spying on me. I'm sure that wouldn't go well with the general public if they heard their precious hokage was spying on children."

Boy was it fun to see him sweat. He was in a corner and we both knew it. I could feel Hiro's gaze on me through the book shelf. It was full of disappointment and slight anger. The hokage turned and took a scroll off the shelf.

"Here. Read this to better understand the jutsu. You're a smart girl. I'm sure you can find a book on chakra control."

"Thanks a bunch, hokage-sama!" I gave a smirk as he hurryingly left.

"Hook, line, and sinker." I chuckled to myself.

Hiro walked over to me and smacked my head. "What was that for?" "That was the hokage, El. You shouldn't have done that. I'm sure you've just created a big headache for him."

"I doubt it. I have dirt on him." This earned me another smack. "Bastard! Stop hitting me!"

Minato calmed his beating heart. That girl is beyond a genius. Even if he confronts anyone of the Kasai clan, she'd be there and say one sentence to ruin him. 'He was watching me like a pervert.' He could hear her voice taunt him. He could see the smugness on her face. How could a child be this terrifying?

"You, bastard!"

"Ellie, you need to refrain from speaking to important people. That's one of father's rules." Minato recognized Hiro. He's the heir of the Kasai clan and the first son of Fudo. Minato kept listening to them.

"Why should that even matter? He'd only say I'm some child he took in out of pity."

"Don't talk like that. You'll always be my cute little sister no matter what."

"Even though…" Her voice was quiet and had a tone of sorrow.

"It doesn't matter, Ellie. We have the same mother and that's all that matters." Minato knew why the Kasai clan hid Ellie's existence. She's the daughter of Ayane Kasai but not Fudo. No wonder why her existence was only a rumor.

Today, I was allowed to watch Hiro and his team practice. I was able to do this on occasion. His two teammates were both males. Even their sensei was a male. I guess there weren't a lot of girls in big brother's class. First was Kyoya. He has short, messy black hair and eyes. He was slender but muscular. The two of us hated each other. The other teammate was Yamamoto. I called him Yama for short. He has soft spiky brown hair and blue eyes that stood out from his tanned skin. He had a similar body to Kyoya. Their sensei is called Keisuke. He has long, light brown hair tied to the side, resting on his left shoulder. His eyes were a darker brown, offsetting his looks. It was easy to see who stood out. That would be big brother. With his red hair and gold eyes, there was no way he wouldn't stand out. Even in the clan he had the brightest features. I was well liked among the team with the exception of Kyoya.

"Come here, Kappa." Sensei called out to me.

I perked up and ran over. "What is it, sensei?" I had gotten used to calling Keisuke 'sensei' because it was out of habit.

"I have a job for you, alright?" "Okay!"

He turned to his team of chunin. "You three are good to leave for lunch. I'll stay here and watch Ellie. Bring her something back to eat. You wouldn't want another incident, right?" Keisuke said with a hidden threat.

The three tensed. "N-no, sir!" They left the training grounds.

"Ellie." Keisuke's voice was harsh. It wasn't a bad kind of harsh. It was a fatherly 'we need to talk' kind of harsh.

"It must be serious, huh?"

"You can tell?" He crouched down with a strange smile.

"You never use my name unless it's serious. I'll take whatever punishment you think I deserve for my wrong doings." I got on my knees and bowed.

"Hiro wasn't joking." I looked up, slightly confused. Sensei rubbed the top of my head with a frown.

"Your brother told me how the clan treats you."

"They treat me normally. I'm just punished more because I don't watch myself as I should." I explained, telling a fake truth. It was normal how they'd treat me, but I knew it wasn't normal in any other family or clan.

"We both know that's not true. I can tell from your eyes you're not telling the truth." I looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact. "Your eyes are sincere and clear. If it was anyone else, you would have been able to fool them. I've just been around you a lot longer."

"Is this all you wanted to talk about?" I kept my eyes on the ground.

"I wanted you to do me a favor." "What?" I looked up. Keisuke handed me explosive tags.

My eyes started to sparkle. "Is this what I think this is?"

"Hide them everywhere."

"I can blow up asshat?" I said, referring to Kyoya.

"Yes, you can! Blow up the other two while you're at it." I took the tags with excitement.

"This is the best day ever!"

I ran all over the training ground and planted the tags in secret locations. I even dug holes in the ground. Not even the trees were safe from me. Once I was done, I was dancing with anticipation next to Keisuke. "They won't be here for another hour."

"I'm still excited." I tried to calm myself down from the exciting and impending blowing up of my brother and his team.

"Don't be too excited. They'll think something is up." "I know, but I can't help it."

"Keisuke." The two of us looked and saw the hokage. What was he doing here? Was he stalking me?

"Sir?" The hokage looked at me with a smile.

"I see we meet again. How is your new jutsu working out?"

"It's alright." He nodded happily.

"I'm glad to hear." His attention was focused onto Keisuke. "There's a mission your team would be perfect for. It requires traveling to the land of snow."

"That sounds interesting. Hiro would be useful for obvious reason, but I'm not sure about the other two would perform. They haven't been in that harsh of a climate before." Keisuke voiced his concerns to the hokage.

"Yama is good at traveling in harsher conditions than the others. He can tell the others how to safely travel with efficiency." The two men looked down at me. "Even though Kyoya is utterly useless, he still has his amazing balance which can help if they're traveling or fighting on ice. Plus, that idiot has the magical ability to see the tiniest of details. That can help to see if there's a trap in snow. It's a miracle he graduated." Sensei whistled, impressed of my deduction.

"I guess those three idiots were wrong about you."

"Of course they are! I don't come here for nothing. I come here to observe."

The hokage seemed more than impressed. "You should be proud. Not everyone is as observant as you are."

"They're not observant because they have a stick up their ass." Sensei sighed and lightly smacked my head.

"Language." Keisuke said softly with irritation.

"Sorry."

"Minato!" The hokage seemed to freeze when a woman's voice called out for him. I looked and saw a woman with long red hair. She saw me and stopped. The two of us were in a trance-like state, staring at each other.

"Kushina?" She walked over and pushed the hokage away. She then crouched down in front of me.

"Who are you?" She asked breathlessly.

"I'm Ellie Kasai." Her eyes seem to widen.

"The rumors were true…" She whispered to herself.

"Kushina?" Minato questioned her. She kept her concentration on me, as if I was the only person here.

"Your hair is so blue."

"Your hair is really red." I commented back.

"Shouldn't you be used to red hair?"

"I am, but your color of red is prettier. The Kasai hair color is dull and has no character." She chuckled lightly and stood up.

"She's adorable!"

"Did you need something, Kushina?" Why was the hokage so nervous? Kushina folded her arms. This could be entertaining.

"You were supposed to be back at your office twenty minutes ago."

"I must have lost track of time." I laughed with amusement. The hokage noticed and wasn't amused.

"Wow. I never knew I was this popular." Sensei sighed at my antics.

"As much as I'd like to punish her, she's right. You don't give out mission information out in the open. Plus, little Kappa here told me you were spying on her. What was that about?" Keisuke said dangerously. He'd never hurt the hokage, but he was protective over me like a father.

"You were spying on her?" Kushina questioned the hokage dangerously.

"It's all a misunderstanding! I had a student from the academy question me about something complex and he said he heard it from his friend. So, I went and made sure it wasn't an enemy trying to fill his head with ideas." The hokage explained quickly to save himself from his wife. "Minato…" Kushina said with mixed emotions.

"I know. You don't need to say anything else." Kushina shook her head and turned to me.

"Are you in the academy?" "No."

"Do you want to be?"

"I'm not allowed to join the academy."

"Why not?" She asked, full of curiosity.

"Father doesn't like me in the public eye. He's giving me harsher training than the rest of the clan. Though, he rarely trains me." I explained.

"Let me explain more in detail." Sensei brought their attention to him. "The Kasai has a tradition where it can train their clan members and once they're ready, they're brought to the academy for the test. Her siblings went through the same thing."

"I heard something about that. I've never really payed attention to it before." The hokage admitted.

"Ellie is going through the same thing her siblings went through." Keisuke explained.

Kushina smiled brightly. "Are you excited to work with a team and make friends?"

"I won't have a team." "Huh?" The three questioned.

"I've heard them talk. Nothing can get past my ears. They'll give me solo missions that are harder than normal. It's to try and kill me." I can remember hearing some of the elders pick out certain bounties for me to go after once I graduate. Their eyes widened from shock.

"Your brother never said anything about the clan wanting you dead." Keisuke said, clearly angry with the Kasai.

"Of course he didn't say anything. Clan affairs are handled within the clan. Father would punish him if he said anything. It's clear to see I don't have strong Kasai blood. If you read the reports on my mother's last mission, she was stationed in the land of water where she was raped. As a result of that mission, I was born." They were all shocked and surprised. I could only speak the truth about the situation only because the hokage was in my presence.

"Does anyone know?" Kushina asked me.

"Big brother consciously knows. I'm sure the rest of the clan knows, but they don't want to admit it. The village thinks my mother is a whore because my difference in appearances. At least, that's what the rumors are."

"That sad." Kushina hugged me tightly against her chest. My eyes widened. "No child should be hated because of something they didn't do. No child should be targeted because of their looks." Her arms hugged me tighter. This was the first time I've been hugged in a long time. I held Kushina's clothes and started shaking. "Ellie?"

"She…isn't used to affection. It probably shocked her." Kushina hugged even tighter. "Even her own mother isn't allowed to show any affection to her unless it's just the two of them. According to Hiro, Ellie mostly sees her mother with her father." Sensei was shaking with anger. Once Kushina let go, I felt a little empty. Her smile was warm and gentle. It was the same as mama's smile.

"Leave everything to me!" My eyes widened with awe. I felt like I could trust her with my life. I could trust her with my secrets. I've never felt this way before. It scared me. She stood up with newly found determination. "I'll be taking my leave. Take your time, Minato." Once Kushina left, I looked up at Keisuke.

"Ellie?"

"What the hell just happened?" I asked no one in particular.

"I'm not too sure myself." Keisuke responded, just as confused.

The three finally made it back and seemed surprised to see the hokage. Hiro handed me a bento. "I didn't forget."

"Correction: I didn't forget." Yama said with a smirk.

"I can't believe you forgot me, big brother!" I yelled, playing the role of a hurt little sister. He knew I was only playing and ignored me.

"This calls for a game." Sensei said too happily.

"Shit." Hiro said with dread.

"He has that creepy smile on his face." Yama said out loud.

"What did you do, Kappa?" Kyoya asked me.

"What didn't I do?" I said, teasing them.

"She's right. You'll be mitigating through the area without blowing up." Keisuke explained the task at hand to the three teens.

I looked at Kyoya. "I hope you lose your limbs, asshat."

"I'll burn you to a crisp," he replied seriously.

"How? You're utterly useless." I talked back to him.

"At least I'm the better fighter," he scoffed at me.

"That'll come as I advance. At least I can swim."

"Don't bring that incident into this argument." His finger pointed at me, his voice quiet and abrupt.

"I will because you always shut down." I knew I was right about that because he growled and glared at me.

"Stop fighting with a kid, Kyoya. You're a chunin." Yama scolded.

"She started it!"

"Really? Who fights a kid? What kind of horrible person are you?" I said, chuckling with a hand over my mouth.

Keisuke had enough of the bickering. "Enough! When I give you the signal, you three will fight against me while avoiding the bombs."

"You just changed it!" The three shouted.

"You can blame Kyoya for arguing with Kappa. She worked so hard while you three were out." They all glared at me. Well, Yama glared at Kyoya since it was his fault. Yama loved me too much to blame me for something Keisuke wanted me to do.

"Start!" The four jumped into action.

"So, Ellie, what do you think will happen?" The hokage asked me.

"I hope asshat loses a limb or three. Hiro will know when he lands on a tag and will have poor reaction time to fully escape, but he won't be harmed. Yama will be just fine." The hokage hummed with interest. Hiro took a step on the ground.

"Shit!" He jumped, but was caught in the explosion.

"He's flying." I said in a song. We heard a yell and saw Kyoya flying. I made a noise of disappointment.

"I heard that!" Kyoya shouted. I clicked my tongue. "I'm going to fucking kill you when you're older!" Kyoya yelled, ending up on a branch which exploded, sending him flying again. Sensei and the rest sighed.

"I swear that boy will always hold a grudge." Keisuke said after a short sigh.

Kushina was walking in the village when she spotted familiar red hair. She knew it was Fudo. Beside him was Ayane. Kushina was good friends with Ayane. In fact, the two used to hang out all the time when Ayane first arrived at the village.

"Ayane!" The two stopped and saw Kushina running over.

"Kushina?" She stopped running and smiled brightly.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you in years!" Kushina asked energetically. It's what Ayane loved about her.

"I've been well. How are you?" Ayane replied in her melodic, soothing voice.

"It's been the same. Though, Minato is always busy with business."

"Why don't you and Kushina have the day to yourselves?" Fudo said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. You haven't had fun in a while." Kushina giggled and took Ayane's hand, running off. Kushina brought Ayane to her apartment. "I wasn't expecting this to happen today."

"I had an ulterior motive to this." Kushina explained seriously.

"What?" Kushina turned around.

"I met Ellie." Ayane's gold eyes widened.

"W-who's that?" Ayane was nervous enough to stutter over her words. It was something that wasn't like her at all.

"Let's talk over tea." The two sat down at the kitchen table.

"Why are you denying Ellie? She's your daughter."

"I only have Mei. I don't know what you're talking about." Why was Ayane doing this? This wasn't like her at all. Ayane's hand reached over to a pencil on the table. Kushina handed her a piece of paper.

"You must have thought wrong, Kushina. I don't know anyone named Ellie." 'She's my daughter. I can't openly acknowledge her.'

"I'm sorry about that, Ayane. She had your eyes. It must have been someone else." Kushina responded, playing along.

'My father-in-law has put everyone in the clan under a jutsu. If I acknowledge her, I won't have control of my body. I'll be forced to kill her.' Kushina's eyes widened with shock.

"Ayane…" 'Please, Kushina, I need your help. I don't want her to die.'


	3. Chapter 3

The air was tense in the Uzumaki household. Ayane's gold eyes were burning into Kushina's, pleading for help. "What can I do to apologize?" Kushina asked, knowing she had to protect Ellie.

Ayane was clearly distraught. "What do you mean? It isn't your fault you mistook a child for mine." She questioned nervously.

'Take her under your wing whenever I send you a message. She's the sweetest girl I know. Whenever I get free time with her, I'm only teaching her the songs of my clan.' Ayane wrote down as fast as she could.

"Wait…" Kushina said quietly. She looked at Ayane, slowly understanding why Ellie was special.

'Ellie has my kekkei genkai, Kushina. She can use her voice as a weapon. She can't produce a strong flame, but she can manipulate water like my other children can with fire. She can breathe under water. She can even walk across it naturally.'

"I see." Kushina now knew why Ellie was treated like this.

'Everyone in the clan is blinded by the jutsu. Hiro and I are the only ones not as affected.' Ayane kept writing on the piece of paper. 'She has to survive no matter what. I refuse to let my daughter die.'

"I'll do it." Ayane gave a sigh of relief. "I'll even help you and Hiro fight." Ayane's eyes widened. "I'm a seal master for a reason." Kushina said with a bright smile.

Minato got home and was surprised to see Kushina hard at work. "What's all of this for?" He asked, looking at the countless numbers of seals on the table.

"I ran into Ayane."

"You did?"

"We're Ellie's godparents."

"What? Why? When did this happen?" Minato questioned. He hasn't been this confused by Kushina in a long time. How come she made a big decision without him?

Kushina nodded. "It happened today actually. The Kasai is under a jutsu."

"What?"

"Ayane told me. Fudo's father put the entire clan under a jutsu once Ellie was born. He wants her dead and has turned the whole clan against her." Kushina explained, her eyes never leaving the paper.

"Why?" "Ellie told us the reason earlier. It's because she can't produce a strong flame like the rest of her clan. In fact, she can manipulate water like her siblings can with fire. She can even breathe under water. Ayane only has a small amount of free time for Ellie and when she does, she teaches Ellie the songs of her clan." Minato's eyes widened.

"Ellie has the Kotone kekkei genkai?" He almost shouted.

"That's correct."

"So, why are you making seals?" Minato asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Hiro and Ayane are the only ones not as affected by the jutsu as strongly as other members. I'm going to make a seal strong enough to suppress the jutsu." Kushina lifted her head to reveal a determined smile.

The next day, Minato called in the third hokage for some help. He dealt with the Kasai clan much more than Minato has ever. "I thought I taught you everything about being hokage." The third chuckled with amusement.

"It isn't that. I'm curious about the Kasai clan and want your opinion."

"Why is that?"

"Did you know of a blue haired Kasai child?"

"I've only heard the rumors."

Minato had an unsure expression. "The rumors are true. Apparently, the last Kasai clan head has the entire clan under a jutsu."

The third sighed heavily. He sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I had a feeling that rumor was true. Yet, I gave the clan the benefit of the doubt."

"What can we do to stop them?" Minato asked.

"We can't do much. I've heard of that jutsu before. It's forbidden and is something the first Kasai clan leader made to put troubled clansmen in line. Now, it's been used for a horrible act against a child." The third explained sadly.

"Can we do anything to stop the jutsu?" Minato asked in hope to find an easy solution.

"The only way to stop the jutsu is for the user to stop the jutsu or for someone to kill the user. Knowing it's the last Kasai clan leader, if we do anything to raise our hands towards them, Fudo will bring this whole village down to ash." The third said. The situation wasn't ideal.

"Tell me is the blue haired child under the effects of the jutsu?" The third questioned.

"She isn't. In fact, Kushina signed papers the other day for us to become her godparents. It's mostly for her safety."

The third hummed in deep thought. "This might work…"

"Sir?"

"If the leaf is to raise its hand, we will pay. However, if an insider is to do the job, we can protect them."

"You can't be serious. She's a child."

"I am. We will train Ellie Kasai until she is strong enough to kill her grandfather and break the curse. If not, I fear the Kasai might be forced to carry out unforgivable acts." Minato stared at the third with uncertainty. "We will figure out how to train her. For now, we need to be thankful for this blessing in disguise." The third said softly.

"Ayane told Kushina that Ellie has the Kotone kekkei genkai." Minato said, remembering what Kushina told him last night.

The third's smile was wide. He knew of Ayane's kekkei genkai and how powerful it could be if used properly. "This will work without fail." "You better be right about this, lord third."

I could feel something push me. It was annoying. "Wake up, Ellie." My eyes slowly opened. Mama was hovering over me with a smile. "Good morning, sleepy head." I yawned.

"Good morning, mama. I'm tired." She chuckled and got me out of bed.

"I made breakfast for us." Mama started to brush my hair.

"Huh? What about the others?"

"Mama slept in too." She stuck out her tongue playfully. What was she planning? At the table, the food was already set. We sat and I started to stuff my face. The food was good which something I am thankful for. During breakfast, she never once laid eyes on me. Even when she woke me up, she looked at somewhere else.

"Say, Ellie, how would you like to train?"

"Really?"

"Really! I want you to learn all of my songs. Plus, your grandparents want to train you." Mama said with her usual, bright smile.

"When?!" I loved my grandparents. They were so fun to be around.

"Well, we'll train today and you'll be able to stay with your grandparents in a few weeks." My face lit up. I was so excited. "Let's eat and then we can train." "Yes, mama!"

After we were done eating, I dragged mama to our usual spot where no one would be able to find us. She couldn't stop laughing at my determination. "Okay. Today, I'll be showing you the song and dance once. After that, you'll have to practice on your own." Mama explained seriously. Her voice was still soft.

"What does this song do?" I asked curiously.

"This song can paralyze anyone who hears. When you get used to the song, you'll be able to direct it to one person." I made a noise of awe. Mama took a few steps back and put herself into position. She took a deep breath and started to sing and dance beautifully. She always held such grace. It made me shiver. When she was done, I found new determination. I wanted to be just like her.

"Now, try it." She sat on the ground as I went in the same place she was standing. "Now, remember every single detail and show me what you can do."

The next day, I went and visited Itachi at our usual spot. He looked extremely down in the dumps. It was even depressing for me to look at him. I snuck up beside him with a mischievous smile. "What's gotten into you?"

He looked up with a small blush. "Ellie!"

I walked over with a smile. "What's wrong? You're more depressed than usual."

He let out a deep sigh. "Father keeps pushing me harder and harder."

"Do you know why?"

He nodded. "He wants me to be strong so I can lead the clan."

"That sounds about right." It's how Hiro felt at times since he's the first in line to succeed father.

"I don't want to do it." He admitted softly. He really wasn't meant to be a shinobi.

"It's a shame. I'd like to be the leader of my clan." I spoke nonchalantly.

"Huh?" This took Itachi by surprise. "I thought you had no interest."

"I don't, but I have my reasons, Itachi."

"What are they?" Itachi got closer.

"It'd be nice to see the old geezers cringe as they bow to my feet. Plus, if I were to become the head of the clan, I'll crush the Kasai." "What?!" Itachi yelled out, unable to comprehend what I said. "I'm serious. I'll demolish my clan and rebuild it."

"So…" I attacked Itachi with a hug. "You're so adorable when you figure things out on your own. The look on your face is priceless."

"H-hey!" He tried to get me off of him, but I was stronger.

"I'm going to the sound." I suddenly said.

"The sound?" He sounded confused.

"The country, Itachi."

"Oh…" We stayed in the same position. Itachi didn't seem to mind.

"I'll be gone for a few weeks."

"Why?"

"Training." He was disappointed. "I know it's sad. You won't see the great Ellie for a few weeks. I never knew I affected your life that much."

"Shut up." He said with embarrassment.

I stood up and brushed myself off. "I have to go now."

"Okay."

"Don't be too sad. I'll bring you back a souvenir."

"O-okay." I chuckled and kissed Itachi on the cheek. His face turned red. "W-what was that for?!" I stuck my tongue out and ran back. Hiro was waiting for me.

"Kappa!"

"Bastard!" I spun and kicked him in the stomach. He hunched over in pain. "Dammit, Ellie!" "Suck it up, buttercup!"

Again, I was taken to another training session with Hiro and his team. This meant I could practice my new song. I can't wait to see them struggle. "Welcome back, Kappa." Keisuke said happily.

"Mama taught me a new dance yesterday. Can I try it on these idiots?" I asked Keisuke.

"Sure!"

"The last time you tried out a new song, you almost killed us." Kyoya said.

I shot Kyoya a dirty look. "I know. I'll make sure to sing a little louder next time so I can finish the job."

"Why is your sister a psycho?!" Kyoya yelled at Hiro.

"She's my sweet little Kappa." Hiro said, hugging me tightly. I swear Hiro was a leech when it came to me. All he wanted was to be near me at all times. It was annoying most of the time. Keisuke clapped his hands.

"You three can start warming up. I'll be helping Kappa stretch."

"You're not serious about letting her sing, right?" Kyoya asked.

"I think it's a good thing. It's helping Kappa out by giving her an outlet to get stronger. Plus, we're chunin. We need to get stronger ourselves. If we're against a water specialist, we'll be fine." Yama explained. Sometimes, he was the only sensible one out of his team.

I hugged Yama tightly. "This is why you're my favorite."

While the three were warming up, Keisuke and I were left alone. "So, Ellie, I was told some interesting news."

"What kind of news?"

"You're aware of the reason your clan hates you, correct?" I nodded as I stretched my sides. "Your mother and Kushina are really good friends. So, your mother made Kushina and Minato your godparents."

I stopped and stared at Keisuke with wide eyes. "Huh? Why? I'm perfectly fine at home."

"They'll be there when you need to escape. No one is expecting you to always be there. It's more of a way to protect you."

"I see." I started stretching again.

"What kind of song is it today?" Keisuke asked to change the subject.

"It can paralyze those who hear." I took out earplugs. "Here. I'd rather have you laugh along me instead of paralyzed."

He gratefully took them. "Show me one hell of a performance."

Once we were all ready to go, the three readied themselves. I got in position and took out a small fan. This confused Hiro. I took a deep breath and started to perform. The three tried to move, but found it difficult.

"W-what?"

"I can't move my body."

"It's like a weight was placed on every muscle." The three's suffering was the best. Even Keisuke was enjoying it. Hiro could tell I was coming towards the end of the song. He smirked with victory. He knew once I stopped, they wouldn't be paralyzed anymore.

"Go ahead and sing the rest of the song, Ellie." I knew once the song was over, they'd be able to move again. Hiro knew that. I needed to think of something to get the upper hand. When I was done, the three regained their ability to move.

"Run." The three said. I let out a small scream and ran with all of my might. "Ellie!"

I kept running as fast as I could. "Help me!" Somehow, I ran into Minato and Kushina who were out on a stroll.

"Ellie? What's wrong?" Minato asked me.

"They're going to kill me!" I said with tears forming in my eyes. I kept running.

"Get back here!" I heard the three yell.

Sensei appeared beside me. "Haven't you been playing with them long enough?" I stuck my tongue out and giggled. The three ran over with great speed. I took a few steps back with the biggest smirk on my face.

"Die, bastards!" They all realized what I meant when the ground suddenly exploded.

"Kappa!" Hiro rose from the dust. I saw a fireball come right at me. I couldn't dodge. Fear filled me. My instincts started to kick in.

"No!" I yelled and held my hands out to protect me. The entire area stood silent. I opened my eyes and gasped with shock. My gold eyes widened.

A shield of water was in front of me. I looked around and saw the ground around me burnt. Hiro stared at me with wide eyes. I was out in the open and I used my water. Someone from the clan could be watching. If father learned this, I wouldn't survive his punishment.

"N-no…" I let out a quiet plea.

"Stay calm, Ellie." Sensei's voice echoed in my ears. I put my hands over my ears, but I noticed how the water followed. I could hear it move. I knew this happened, but I was in a panicked state. Hiro ran to me, but I stepped away from him.

"Dammit."

"This is why we never let you use your fire, Hiro." Kyoya yelled at Hiro. I fell onto my knees. "Stop yelling, all of you!" Sensei scolded them. He walked over to me, but Kushina got to my first. She ran to me and hugged me tightly.

"It's alright, Ellie. I'll make everything better." She said with a calm, sincere voice.

"You don't understand. If they find out, I'll…"

"It's okay. I won't let them hurt you."

"You can't promise me that." I said in her shoulder.

"I can and I will. Let's go back to my place. I'll make you warm milk with honey." "Like mama?" She nodded. "Just like mama."

When the two of us arrived, I sat at the kitchen table. I watched Kushina move around in the kitchen. "So, Ellie, did your sensei tell you of the news?"

"He did." She gave me the mug of warm milk. It smelled sweet. Kushina kept staring at me with a smile.

"W-what?"

"Your hair is really beautiful and so long. It reminds me of the ocean."

"Oh."

"Can I braid your hair?"

"What's that?" I seemed to have surprised her.

"I'll show you. It'll feel really good."

"Okay." She went in the other room. I took a sip and melted. The heat and sweetness was exactly what I needed. She came back with a brush and hair ties. I was put on the floor. Kushina sat behind me and started to brush my hair. While she was doing that, the door opened. A silver haired ANBU member walked in.

"Welcome back, Kakashi. Did you just finish a mission?" Kushina greeted while she kept playing with my hair.

"I did." He came in and awkwardly sat on the couch. Even though he had the mask on, I could feel him staring at me.

"You can take the mask off." Kushina spoke.

"Not with her." Did he not like me? I closed my eyes as Kushina started to play with my hair. Now that I'm thinking about it, there was another person spying on me and Itachi. Could it be him? I couldn't really tell.

"She's fine."

"She looks like a foreigner." I glared at him with a pout.

"Ellie isn't a foreigner. She's the daughter of my best friend."

"I see…"

"Take it off." I could tell there was a hidden threat. He still didn't move.

"He wants to keep the mask on to keep staring at me." I spoke which surprised the two.

"You think so?" Kushina asked me.

"I can feel his stare. It's annoying."

"Your mother told me how much of a genius you are, but I didn't expect you to have a strong sixth sense."

Kushina was playing with my hair for the longest time. "Aren't you tired?" Kakashi asked her.

"I could do this forever. Her hair is so soft. Come here and feel it."

"I'm good."

"Now." I sort of felt bad for Kakashi. He sighed and sat behind me. "Take your gloves off."

"Kushina…" He sounded embarrassed underneath the coldness of his voice.

"Now, Kakashi." I could feel him tense. It even made me on edge. Then, I felt him start to play with my hair.

"It is soft." He said with surprise.

"I'll start making dinner." Kushina said before getting up. Kakashi kept playing with my hair. The way he'd run his hands against my scalp made everything better. The door opened and Minato walked in.

"W-what is going on?" We all looked at him.

"I'm making dinner and Kakashi is playing with Ellie's hair."

"Why?"

"It's soft." The two answered.

I kept sipping on my milk. "Are you feeling better, Ellie?" Minato questioned.

"I've been better since Kushina started to play with my hair."

"That's good. You worried everyone." I shrugged my shoulders. "It happens from time to time."

"You're braiding her hair wrong." Kushina said from the kitchen.

"This is so confusing." Kakashi muttered to himself.

It was the next day and Kushina and Kakashi were both playing with my hair. Today, Kushina was teaching Kakashi how to braid hair.

"Like this?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes! Just like that." There was a knock on the door before it opened. Mama and Hiro walked in. Hiro saw Kakashi and glared.

"Get away from her." Hiro spat.

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"You're tainting my sister."

"I'm doing nothing like that."

I glared at Hiro. "I will drown you if you make him stop." I threatened him and he knew I'd do it.

"Don't take his side!" Hiro yelled with jealousy.

I leaned into Kakashi with a smirk. "Whatever side you're on, I'm already on the opposite side. Plus, he plays with my hair the right way. You won't even try it." Hiro started gawking.

"See, Hiro? Even your sister likes me."

"See, big brother?"

"That's enough, you two." Minato lightly smacked our heads.

"Let's go, Kakashi. We have business to take care of."

Once the two left, Kushina brought out two seals. "I think I've done it."

I looked with interest. "What's that?" I asked.

"This will keep the curse away from your mother and brother."

My eyes widened. "You can do that?" "I'm not a master sealer for nothing." Kushina put the two seals on Hiro and mama.

"I…feel so much lighter." Mama said before looking at me. "Ellie, my baby girl." The two of us were shocked when she didn't freeze and walk the other direction.

"M-mama…" She held her arms out and I ran into them. She kept petting my hair, crying.

"Thank you, Kushina." Mama said.

"We're best friends. It's what I'm here to do. They don't call me a seal master for nothing." I turned to Kushina with a big smile.

"Can you teach me about seals? I want to be able to make seals to help mama and big brother."

"Sure!"

Mama took me to train shorty after. We trained for hours. She was teaching me songs to defend myself if I get attacked. She wanted me to be prepared for when I go to the sound to train with grandma and grandpa. They'd teach me the songs mama couldn't because of her constraints. Thankfully, with the seal, she was mostly free. She'd act cold hearted around my father and the clan. She'd playfully look back and stick her tongue out. All in all, things were substantially better than it was better. It was like giving the biggest bird to my grandfather and it felt amazing.


	4. Chapter 4

Only a week remained until I would be sent off to my grandparents back in Otogakure. Excitement kept bubbling up in me every time I would think about it. However, every time I would mention it to Itachi, he'd always get depressed.

"What will I do now that you won't be here?" He questioned

"It's only a month, Itachi. You'll survive." He sighed heavily. "Didn't you tell me you have a summon?" He nodded. "Why don't we communicate that way?" His eyes had a small spark of life that wasn't previously there.

"I didn't think of that." He said quietly, probably embarrassed for not thinking of the solution.

"Don't be surprised. It's my job to think of ideas. I'm the princess and you're the knight under my command." His cheeks turned pink. He was too adorable to mess with. "Hey, Itachi, since I'll be facing the dangers of the outside world, how about you train me with self-defense?"

"I could hurt you."

"The outside world will hurt me a lot more than you ever will." He nodded and faced me with hesitant eyes.

"Let's go."

A week passed. I was meeting with Itachi one last time. He was hiding something behind his back. "Itachi? What's wrong? You look nervous." I commented, watching him twitch.

"I'm not nervous."

"I'll let you off the hook despite how much I don't believe you." The two of us chuckled. He then handed me what was behind his back. It was a small wooden box with the Uchiha clan's symbol engraved on the top. "What is this?" I questioned.

"I made a small care package for you."

"Thank you, Itachi. I really appreciate it."

"There are some small seals that when activated will make a camp fire. It's just in case you need it or get lost and need warmth."

"There are seals like that?!" He nodded. I hugged Itachi tightly. "Thank you, Itachi. I really mean it."

"You're my only friend. I don't want you to get hurt." I almost cooed at his innocence. I let go and heard my name be called by my brother. "Good luck, Ellie."

"Thank you. I'll see you when I get back."

I hid the box behind me once I got to the compound. "There you are. Did you finish packing?" Hiro questioned me.

"Not yet. I'll go finish now. It'll only be a minute." I only had the box to pack to be done. I wasn't expecting to get anything at all.

He sighed heavily. "I'll be waiting at the hokage's office." He walked away. I ran into my room and looked at my bag. I put the box in and took one good look around my room one last time. "I'll be back stronger than ever." Running in the village, I saw Kushina.

"Ellie!" She ran to me. "What's going on today?"

"I'm going to my grandparents place."

"That's right! I forgot about that. Who is escorting you?"

"My big brother and his team are bringing me."

"Don't cause too much trouble."

"Huh? Did you say something?" I asked, playfully pretending to ignore her. She laughed and hugged me before letting me go. I finally got to the hokage's office and barged in. This seemed to terrify everyone. Hiro punched the top of my head.

"Why did you do that, you bastard?!" I yelled at him.

"You gave all of us a heart attack!"

"You're the shinobi! Shouldn't you be able to handle it?" The two of us were growling at each other. Yama came over and started petting my hair.

"He's right, Ellie. You need to knock before entering."

"Okay."

Hiro's eye twitched. "Why do you always listen to him? I'm your brother, aren't I?"

"Huh? Did you say something?" Hiro sighed and looked at the hokage. That's when I noticed a peddler in the room. He looked at me and smiled.

"Good morning, Ellie." The hokage greeted happily.

"Good morning." I said with a calm voice. It threw everyone off.

"Your brother's team will be escorting you and this peddler to your destinations." Multiple? Where was the peddler going to and what did he have that was so valuable that he needed protection from Hiro's team? They were usually called for important missions. "Okay."

The six of us left. I still hadn't gotten the peddler's name. It was unnerving and made me feel in danger. Keisuke noticed and walked to me while the three protected the peddler.

"What's wrong, kappa?" Keisuke asked.

"What's with this guy?" I asked in a whisper.

"He's carrying scrolls to the land of Frost."

"I'm guessing they're either dangerous or important."

"That's correct." I hummed in deep thought. Keisuke placed his hand on top of my head.

"It's the shinobi's job to think about the mission. You're our cute client."

"If something happens because the two useless shinobis behind us don't use their heads, I'm filing a complaint and will never use your services again." He laughed which got the four's attention.

"I don't know what she said, but I feel like she insulted us." Kyoya said in a hush tone to Hiro. Yama smiled at his two companions.

"Correction: she insulted you two."

We finally made it at the border of the fire country. The sun was starting to set. We were a couple of hours away from Otogakure. The three chunins set up camp while the rest of us sat and talked. Well, the two men talked. I stayed out of everything and read a book Kushina gave me a while ago. It was about plants to eat for survival. She said I'll need this information when I'm a shinobi. I could tell the peddler had his eyes on me most of the time. Once a fire was built, asshat started to cook. Thankfully, it edible. Yama and Hiro could tell something was bothering me. Even during dinner I could feel his stare. Thankfully, when we slept, I was able to be sandwiched between Hiro and Yama tightly. It made me feel safe. In the morning, we went back to our journey to the sound.

"I wonder if grandma will hit you again, Hiro." I said with a smile.

Hiro grunted. "Don't remind me. That old bat always has it out for me."

"Do you blame her? Just one look at your face would make anyone want to hit you. I'll be surprised if you get married."

"Brat!" Keisuke gave Hiro a dirty look and he automatically kept his mouth shut. I tilted my head. Why was he so serious? Yama slowly walked up behind me. Keisuke gave me a smile. "Just a little more, alright?"

"Okay?" I was confused at the situation. I couldn't read the area.

The peddler turned and handed me a wooden cube puzzle. "Try and solve this. No one has ever solved it before. Legend says there's a great power. It'll keep your mind off the travel."

"Woah! If I solve this, I'll be able to wipe the floor with asshat." I was glared at from behind.

"Keep it well protected, alright?" The peddler said softly.

"You have nothing to worry about. It'll be well protected with me." He smiled and rubbed the top of my head. "You're a good girl."

We started walking again. I kept my focus on the box. It was indeed difficult, but I needed to solve it. Something was telling me this box was special and it wasn't just because there was great power. Though, that could be something said to get people to actually use their brains once in a while.

An hour passed and I kept walking even though everyone else stopped. I didn't notice it until it was too late. "Ellie!" I looked up from the cube and turned to Hiro. My eyes widened. He and the others were surrounded by men. I regained my composure. I felt a heavy hand on my head. I looked up and saw a heavily scarred and muscular man. He towered over me.

"If you move, I won't hesitate to crush your skull." The man threatened me.

"Don't touch her!" Hiro yelled.

"Hand over the scrolls and I'll let her go." They didn't move. It almost hurt. No. It did hurt.

"The girl has nothing to do with this. Leave her be. Take me instead." Keisuke said. The hand didn't move.

"Taking the kid as a hostage is more interesting. The red head is more than worried."

"He doesn't care about me." The man looked at me. "Huh?"

"My entire family tries to kill me because I'm different. In fact, I don't even know what friends are. My existence itself is taboo."

"You're depressing, you know?" The man holding me hostage said.

"I'm only stating the truth." He frowned and then smiled.

"How about we make a deal, alright?"

"I like deals." I said with a little bit of happiness.

"Betray them." Their eyes widened. "Don't do it!" Hiro yelled at me.

"Why should I do that?" I asked.

"If you do, I'll give you a life of adventure. You'll never have to be at the place where you're not wanted."

"Will you train me?" I asked.

"I will." I smiled widely and looked at the group. "Will they die?" "Yes." "Perfect." The group paled when they heard my answer. The man pushed me back.

"Stay back, alright? I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"I can do that." I took a few steps back. Keisuke was horrified at my decision. Hiro started to tear up. The man walked over to them. "Wait!" The man turned to me.

"What is it?"

"Can I sing to tune out their screams?" I questioned innocently.

"Do whatever you want." When he turned is back, I let out an evil expression. Oh, he'd regret ever turning his back on me.

Taking a deep breath, I started singing the song mama taught me. It would give anyone who heard, migraines to the point they'd do anything to stop the pain. Thankfully, she worked with me to direct the song so there wouldn't be any casualties. The other men looked at me with off expressions. The lyrics didn't exactly happy sounding. Nevertheless, I sang with a smile. That's when the men started falling to their knees, screaming with pain. The group was freed.

"Ellie…" Hiro said quietly with disbelief.

The man turned to me. "You. You're a damned Kotone! Kill her!" Just as a blade went to touch my neck, a shield of water was held up between me and the blade. I smirked and ran back to Hiro.

"Can you guys kill them now?" They looked at me with surprise. "Ellie…" "Do you honestly think I'd betray you, big brother?"

"I almost did." I was suddenly grabbed and thrown into a tree hard enough where there was a dent.

It was a struggle to get up. My back hurt. My bag was lying on the ground next to me. That's when I remembered what Itachi gave me. I took the box out and opened it. Inside, I saw the one thing I was looking for. Though it wasn't a kunai, it was something better.

"Tanto." I muttered in a trace. The small sword was twice the size of a regular kunai. I looked up and saw the four having difficulties fighting. If I wasn't this weak I'd be able to fight. 'Fight.' That voice… 'Fight them. You're the only one that can do the impossible. After all, you created me.' I unsheathed the tanto and was mesmerized by how sharp the blade was. Why did I feel so calm? My body felt weird. I heard a painful scream and saw a blade pierce Hiro. My eyes widened.

"Hiro…" Despite how I wanted to scream, my voice was calm. 'Focus. Hiro is strong. He can handle it.' The voice said. I nodded and stood up with the blade firmly gripped in my hand. A song started playing in my head. It was something I never heard before, but it was familiar. My body was hot, fueling me with the courage to fight.

Taking a step, I concentrated on my chakra. I didn't care if I had to rely on my water. I needed to save them. "I…trust!" I jumped into action, singing the song. I slashed the man's back and jumped back.

"Ellie!" Keisuke yelled with shock.

The adrenaline was rushing throughout my body, giving me almost perfect reflexes. I could dodge all attacks without flaw. Itachi's training really helped me read the opponent. I'm not sure how the song is helping, but I'm sure I'll get my answer soon. I smiled with pride.

"What's with you?" The man questioned.

I was pushed back, but I sprang forward singing. I jumped into a small puddle and was pushed high in the sky. A patch of water suspended in air, acting as something for me to push off of. The man made himself ready for my attack. However, I had an even better idea. Itachi told me how you could distract an enemy with one thing to the point where they wouldn't be able to react to your second attack. I threw the tanto right at him and just as Itachi said, he did exactly what I wanted.

As his eyes turned back to me, my foot collided with his face. The song had powered me up, making the kick even more deadly. He flew back and I flipped, landing on my feet. The song finally ended. I grabbed my tanto and waited for the man to get back up. He got back up and glared.

"You broke my jaw." He growled.

"In my opinion, it's an improvement." I commented with a smug expression.

"I'll kill you!"

"Don't touch her!" Kyoya yelled.

"I got him, Kyoya. You focus on taking the others out. Yama and sensei need to protect the peddler and Hiro can't fight."

"You're not strong enough."

Another song started playing. "Too late!" I ran at the guy and punched him. I took a deep breath and sang. I've never been this confident in fighting before. I've never been this confident singing. The man threw kunai at me. I ran at the kunai head on and only got scratched.

"Those should have hit!" I got low and kicked him in the side.

Keisuke stood in shock. Ellie was fighting with elegance and precision he's never seen. Even her mother never moved this fluidly. She was flying around the enemy and landing attacks left and right. She got every single one of his weak points. Where has she been training? Was it the song she was singing? Was this the true power of the Kotone?

"Sensei."

He turned to Yama. "Yes?"

"Ellie…she's so beautiful when she fights. I can't take my eyes off of her."

"I know."

"She's never fought like this before." Hiro said, holding his wound.

"She isn't fighting like a novice. This is at least chunin level combat." Keisuke said, knowing he'd have to report this to the hokage. He saw her eyes move everywhere, watching the enemy's every move. It was as if he was watching an Uchiha battle with how well she read the man. Ellie screamed the last line of the song, putting everything she had in her last punch. To everyone's surprise, a bright flame engulfed her hand and soon, engulfed her enemy.

Ellie collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted. Keisuke ran to her. "Ellie?" She looked up, panting heavily.

"Did I do it?" She asked between pants.

"You did." She smiled peacefully.

"I'm sorry I made it seem like I betrayed you." She said weakly.

"Don't apologize. Get some rest. You deserve it."

"Asshat better let me sleep." She closed her eyes and passed out. Kyoya was soon done taking out the men.

"Yama, assess Hiro's wounds and then take a look at Ellie."

"Yes, sensei."

After Keisuke put Ellie on the ground, he looked at the burnt man. He was dead, making this Ellie's first kill. Keisuke couldn't tell how the man died. It could have been either the punch or the fire. Still, it was surprising she even produced a flame when it was thought she could never produce one because of her water nature. He walked over and picked her bag up. Hopefully, Ellie isn't too traumatized from this.

After Yama bandaged Ellie's small wounds up, Keisuke carried her on his back. They started walking. "Can anyone tell me what the hell just happened?" Kyoya questioned.

"Well, Ellie showed you up and killed the main bad guy." Yama teased from behind.

"That's not needed. Seriously, I'm confused. I thought Kappa couldn't fight this well."

"She's been training with my mom a lot lately, but I don't think she's been training Ellie in taijutsu. Mom doesn't even move like that when she fights." Hiro said, puzzling everyone.

"I don't think it matters. She protected us when we were cornered." Yama said to be on the bright side.

"About that…" They looked to their sensei. "Ellie is our client and yet she saved our asses. You three are in for a long, intense training session." The three paled. "Y-yes, sir."

When I woke up, my body was sore. My body wasn't hot anymore. "Good afternoon, Kappa." Keisuke greeted.

"How long have I been out?" I asked Keisuke quietly.

"You've been out for a good four hours." I groaned.

"We'll be at your grandparents any minute."

"Good. I'm hungry."

"You deserve a feast after your fight."

"What happened to the guy?" I asked with a yawn.

"He died." I didn't tense. I didn't really know how to act. "Sensei, how should I react to this?"

"Everyone is different." He replied softly.

"How did you act?"

"I cried for days." I hummed in response.

"I don't feel bothered when I know I probably should." I said with shame. It probably wasn't normal to not care about killing someone.

"That's perfectly normal. When you come back, I'm sure the hokage would love to talk you through it."

"That sounds nice." I could see the gates for Otogakure. I jumped down, surprising the four.

"Ellie!" The three chunin shouted.

"Touch me and you will die. I'm hungry and I smell fish." They all laughed. "Nothing gets passed your nose." Yama said happily. "I will cut you too, Yama. I'm not afraid."

At the gate, two shinobi checked our papers. "You losers can do whatever. I'm going to grandma."

"We need to go with you." Keisuke reminded me. I rolled my eyes and guided them to the clan. Like always, there were guards.

"Halt." I looked up at the guard. "Who wants to enter the Kotone clan compound?"

"I do and I'm hungry!" They looked at me and paled.

"P-princess!" "What a wonderful surprise! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for food! Follow me." The group awkwardly followed me. I opened the door and a plate was thrown. It flew over me and hit Hiro.

"Ha! I hit him!" Grandma let out victoriously.

"Your grandmother got you again, Hiro. Why not try and dodge next time?" Grandpa said slyly.

"It wasn't my fault!" Hiro yelled.

"I'm back." I ran over and the two started hugging me.

"It's great to see you, dear. How was the walk?" Grandpa asked me. "We were attacked and I got my first kill." I said as if it was no big deal.

The entire room was silenced. An earie, tense air was thickly taking place. "What?" Grandma questioned.

"Hiro got stabbed pretty badly and they have another client they needed to take care of." I explained the short story.

"I guess we can let this slide. Did you sing?" Grandma asked me.

"I sang two songs. It was weird. They were just playing in my head. I've never heard them before until today, but they sounded familiar. My body even felt hot and my mind was empty." The two turned serious.

"Are you telling the truth, Ellie?" Grandpa questioned.

"I am. Is that a bad thing?" They shook their heads.

"It isn't a bad thing at all." My grandfather said, rubbing my head. He was a Kasai which was why mama got to marry Hiro's father. Grandma was pure Kotone. She had long gray hair and gold eyes.

"I invite you five to stay the night."

"Thank you, sir." Keisuke bowed to grandpa.

"Now, Ellie, let's have a long chitchat." Grandma put a tender hand on my shoulder and started leading me to another part of the compound.

"Will there be food involved? I'm starving."

"I'll have a mountain of fish for you."

"Talk all you want, grandma." She pinched my cheek lovingly. "This is why you're my favorite grandchild."


	5. Chapter 5

Hiro stared at his grandfather as his sensei explained what happened with Ellie. The more Keisuke went into detail, the more Hiro's grandfather looked serious. It worried all of them, especially Hiro. "Are you certain?" Hiro's grandfather asked.

"Yes. I don't even think mom knows those songs." Hiro said.

"And she produced a flame?"

"That's correct." Hiro's grandfather sighed heavily. "Is there something wrong with Ellie?" Hiro asked.

"She's going to be just fine. If anything, Ellie probably unlocked her full kekkei genkai. Did she see something traumatizing by any chance?"

"She saw Hiro get stabbed." Yama said softly.

"That could have done it. She's very attached to you, Hiro. Seeing you stabbed made her instincts run on high and forced her to fully use her kekkei genkai to its limit."

"Does it increase physical power and reaction time?" Keisuke asked, wanting to get answers.

"The Kotone kekkei genkai can do that depending on the song. It probably did have some hand in helping her, but I'm almost certain it wasn't the song that made her fight the way she did." Hiro's grandfather said.

"What do you think is the reason she fought that well if the songs she sang weren't the cause?" Hiro questioned.

Everyone was puzzled. "She must be training with someone." Hiro's grandfather said with a nod.

"That's impossible. She hardly leaves the compound by herself and only does if she's with me." Hiro told his grandfather.

"Don't underestimate your sister. If she's anything like her mother, she has her ways of getting around any walls set by anyone." They all remained silent until Ellie came back.

"Ellie?" Hiro questioned. She seemed different, almost too calm. What was she told?

"What?" She questioned.

"Are you alright? You seem different?" Hiro questioned.

"You should know, big brother. I got fed."

They all sighed. "Of course. You always mellow out when your stomach is full." Kyoya said.

"Watch what you say, asshat."

"I think we all should get some rest. We've all had a tiring day." Keisuke stretched as he stood.

"Ellie, bring them to their rooms." Her grandmother ordered.

"Alright." Ellie escorted them all to their individual rooms. The last person who was beside her was Keisuke.

"Ellie."

"Yes?"

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Keisuke asked me seriously.

"It's my secret."

He frowned. "I need to know whether or not to be worried."

"He's a friend of mine." I kept walking.

"I'm serious, Ellie. I will have no choice but to tell the hokage about this."

"Him?" I tilted my head. "He knows who I'm training with. Plus, you'll have to tell him regardless because I killed someone."

"He knows who you're training with?"

"He does. Your room is right here." I bowed and went back to my room.

The thing grandma told me earlier was concerning. She explained how my kekkei genkai is strong like hers. Because of that, she'll be teaching me songs that can potentially kill me in the process. She explained it in a way where she didn't come right out and say I'd die. It was only suggested. I played the airhead like usual and went along with it, fully knowing what she was talking about. I couldn't tell mama or anyone else about this training. All I had to do was play pretend like usual. Besides, it would be more fun to surprise them. Make everyone think I'm weak and in turn, the game is in my hands.

The next day, Hiro and the group were at the gates. They had to get going to deliver the peddler to his village. "Be strong, alright?" Hiro rubbed the top of my head.

"I'll be just fine. You need to worry about yourself. I won't be there to protect you."

He clicked his tongue. "You're a lady, not a man. You shouldn't be able to fight better than men, especially me."

Yama pushed Hiro out of the way. "Don't listen to him. Strong women are needed to keep idiots like your brother and Kyoya in line."

"This is why you're my favorite, Yama."

The peddler crouched down to me and handed me the wooden box I was fooling around with yesterday. "I want you to keep this."

"Doesn't this have great power? Why are you giving it to me?" I questioned.

"This power is worthy for a warrior of your caliber."

"Warrior?" I questioned softly.

He nodded and smiled softly. "You deserve it."

"Thank you." I bowed respectfully. They all started walking. When I couldn't see their backs anymore, I walked back to the compound.

For the rest of the day, I was forced to go through intense training almost immediately. Grandma pushed me until she was forced to stop by grandpa. One of the maids, Kanade, brought me to the bathing area and washed me up. She's been my personal maid since I was born and she was someone who I could always trust. I'd openly call her a friend.

"You did well." Kanade commented with a smile. She was washing my back gently. I was covered in bruises that hurt. Though, Kanade's light touch didn't bother me.

"I could have done better."

"You're still young. Don't be too hard on yourself."

That night, I heard fluttering. I opened my door to outside and saw a crow. The bird walked to me and cawed. "Itachi…" There was a letter attached to its leg. I took the letter and the crow jumped into my lap. It closed its eyes, relaxing into me. The letter wasn't anything drastic or important. It was mostly Itachi asking questions about everything that confused him. Apparently, the team he was paired with has different views than him. Even his sensei told Itachi his thinking is wrong. That was to be expected. Itachi should know that by now. He'll always have a different view of the world. I smiled and looked at the crow.

"He's just a toy ready to be toyed with. He's nothing but a flower ready to be stomped on. The only end they have is ash." I couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll make sure to take advantage of this new toy of mine until the end. I wonder which one of us will meet our end first. What do you think?" I asked the crow. There was no answer.

It's been two days since Hiro and the rest left Otogakure. They finally got to the land of frost. The peddler wasn't as happy as they thought he'd be. In fact, he looked even more worried and mortified. While walking through the village, the people glared at the peddler.

"Why? Why are you trying to destroy our village?" A woman spat.

"I can save our village. You don't know what I can do." The peddler said with determination.

"Your grandparents and parents thought the same and look where they ended up! They were killed by the curse!" The woman's eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "Look at what you made me do. I'm as good as dead now." She spat with anger.

The shinobi were confused until the peddler brought them to his small hut. "I'm sorry about that."

"What was that about?" Keisuke questioned.

"This town is supposedly under a curse. One mention of it and you'll die in horrid ways. It's how my parents and grandparents met their end, but I know they were killed to keep their mouths shut." The peddler explained sadly.

"That curse can't be real, can it?" Kyoya asked, worried about himself.

"It isn't real at all. Deep in the forest, there's a shrine that sits in a discrete location. If I can just break that seal, this whole village will go back to how it used to."

"So, the village is under some kind of genjutsu." Yama commented.

"That's correct."

"Why aren't you affected?" Hiro asked.

The peddler held his arm out and pulled the sleeve back. On his arm was a seal carved into his skin. "My grandfather took a knife and carved this seal into my arm so one day I can reveal the truth behind this curse."

Later that night, Hiro gave a sigh. He was missing Ellie. Was she doing alright? "She's fine." Yama said with a smile. The four of them have been together for such a long time they knew how each other thought.

"How are you sure?" Hiro asked.

"It's Ellie we're talking about. She'll be just fine." Yama replied.

"I miss her."

Hiro didn't know the real reason why Ellie was in Otogakure. His mom and the hokage both said it was to visit. With Ellie getting her first kill, she might be trained. Though, his grandmother wasn't the best fighter and his grandfather is too injured to fight. At least, that's what he knew and thought.

The next day, the peddler took the group to see the path to the shrine. "There's so many toriis." The four mused. At least a hundred torii stood strong and tall, protecting the shrine from outsiders. The four walked and were stopped by an invisible force.

"There's a seal on each of the torii. I have no knowledge in them which is why I sought the help of Konoha." The peddler explained. Keisuke looked at the writing on the torii. It wasn't a seal and that bothered him. What could have stopped them from entering?

"This looks familiar." Hiro spoke up.

"It does? What kind of seal is this?" The peddler asked with excitement.

"This…isn't a seal. It looks like something I've seen, but I can't remember where." Hiro said.

"You're wrong. It's a seal only a certain clan can take down." The group turned to a man with medium length red hair and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Keisuke questioned.

"My name is Ryo. I'm a traveling seal master."

"Can you help take the seal down?" The peddler asked.

"The seal only accepts the blood of the ancient descendants."

"What does that mean?" Keisuke asked.

"The seal can easily be taken down by a song." Hiro tensed up.

"Is there a clan that uses their voice as power?" Yama asked seriously, slowly getting information.

"That's correct. You'll have to travel to Otogakure and try to convince someone from the clan to help. I've tried, but they're more stubborn than a mule to even get an answer out of them." The man sighed heavily.

"We have to try." The peddler looked at Keisuke. "I'll have to talk to the hokage about this first."

Minato was surprised to get a message from Keisuke's team. "An extension?" Jiraiya looked at his student.

"What's this extension about?"

"A team is requesting information. Apparently, there are seals that only certain people can take down. I've never heard of this before." Minato read the word 'Otogakure' and had a feeling they'd be going to see if one of Hiro's family members could do this.

"What will you do?"

"I'm going to accept it. I want to see something."

"What are you thinking?" Jiraiya asked. "It's nothing."

"Move more!" It was cold.

"Sing more!" My throat burned.

"Use more strength!" My muscles were crying for help.

"Don't hesitate once!" My eyes were tired.

"Use better form!" My brain was going to explode.

I gave one final punch before I transcended to a whole other state of mind. "Stop." My body stopped on command. This feeling was familiar. "Remember this feeling. Engrave the feeling of nothingness into your memory. Your mind and body are finally one entity. This is the state of zero." Grandma's voice was soothing. "Good work, Ellie." I collapsed onto the ground. "Make sure she's alright." Kanade rushed over, worried for my well-being. I felt like other than my grandparents, she was actually concerned about me unlike the other clansmen. They only respected me because of my grandparents.

"Congratulations. Not many have made as far as you have." I was picked up and brought to the medical room. There, I was put in an herbal bath. It didn't smell horrible like others would think. It was mostly filled with different flowers with healing properties. Various dried herbs hung on the wall. I was given food and water while soaking in the bath.

"It feels nice to be pampered like the princess I am."

"You deserve it and more." Kanade commented with a warm smile.

It's been two long weeks. My body has changed drastically in such a short time thanks to grandma's training. My muscles were defined and my chakra control was almost perfect. Grandma was pleased with my progress, but she said I could do better. Grandpa trained me in weaponry. I liked fighting with swords, staffs, and fans, but I wasn't interested in anything else. Though, I liked using my fists a lot more. There was something about feeling the snap or crunch of bone and teeth I felt through my fist I liked. It's sadistic of me, but I couldn't care less. While in the garden, Itachi's crow flew down onto my lap.

"Hello again, little crow." I took the letter and fed the crow a piece of fruit. Reading the letter, I couldn't help but smirk. 'I got my first kill today. My team was surrounded. We had no choice. I've heard many people say they'd get used to killing, but I didn't like it. I can't see myself killing. You already killed someone, right? How did you feel about it? The hokage said everyone deals with their first kill differently, but I'm not too sure. I feel sick. I'm pretending it isn't bothering me, but it is. My family is proud of me for taking a man's life. What do I do? I need your help.' Itachi was probably depressed. I didn't like the picture of that. I hope he'll be able to retire. Killing didn't suit him at all. It's unfortunate he's an Uchiha.

"The weak will eventually perish." I started to pet the crow's head. "Ellie?" I turned and saw my grandpa.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked.

"This old man isn't that old. I wanted to talk." He walked over and sat next to me. "You're doing very well with your training. You did better than your mother did at your age. She didn't even make it to the state of zero. In fact, only your grandmother has done such a feat."

"Really?" Mama didn't do as well as me? That was a surprise.

He nodded with a smile. He noticed the puzzle next to me and stared with awe. "Where did you find that?"

"The peddler gave it to me."

He took the puzzle. "Do you know what this is?" He asked.

"I don't. He said it held a great power, but I just want to solve the puzzle." I responded honestly. I didn't believe there was power.

"What kind of power do you think is in here?" Grandpa asked.

"It's probably empty. If you can open up a difficult puzzle, anything is possible. It's one of those things that'll make people feel like they figured out the puzzle for nothing."

Grandpa ruffled my hair. "You've always been a genius, Ellie. You must hide your intelligence when you're home."

"You can tell?"

"You're mother sends us letters all the time. From what I've read, you're very quiet and reserved. The Ellie in front of me isn't like that. You want everyone to underestimate so you can have the upper hand on the battlefield. It's what you did to save your brother and his team." I was shocked. No one has ever caught on until now. "It's a wonderful skill to have, but you don't have to hide yourself from the entire world. Living your life that way is sad."

"Still…"

"I understand your frustration. You're just acting on your instincts to hide yourself. Just promise me to find someone who will accept you for you and not your façade."

"Isn't that too far into the future?" I questioned, fixing my messed up hair.

He set the puzzle in my lap. "Can't an old man dream? I want to hopefully see you when you get married. Someday, I want to see the real you without having to hold yourself back."

"Grandpa…"

He smiled sadly. "The Kasai hasn't treated you well and they'll continue to do so until whoever put this curse on our clan is killed."

"I'm not a Kasai."

He shook his head. "You produced a flame, Ellie. The Kasai blood runs deep. I'm a Kasai and so is your mother. It doesn't matter if your real father isn't Fudo. It doesn't make you any less of a Kasai than anyone in the clan."

"The flame was a fluke." I tried to reason.

He shook his head. "The Kotone blood is strong in you, but the Kasai blood is still running through your veins. You just happen to be more compatible with water than fire." He laughed and brought me in for a hug. "Tomorrow, you'll be reading on the history of our clan as well as our traditional songs." I groaned. "I know you hate it, but it's necessary. We all went through it. After this, you'll be good to go home."

"I won't need any more training?"

Grandpa shook his head. "You see, this training would take years, but you're different. You're highly in sync with your kekkei genkai which makes training easier."

"I still need to get stronger."

"That'll come with age and experience. For now, concentrate on the boring stuff so you can have fun when you're older. You'll have fun making new songs."

The next morning, I woke up and was dragged by the maid to the library. "Good morning, princess." Some of the members greeted respectfully. I grunted in response. I was brought to a table.

"You can't force me." I muttered.

"Sit up and read." My body sat up on its own thanks to grandma's voice. She smiled playfully. It's where mama got her smile and in turn, where I got my smile. "Now, Ellie, this is going to bore me more than it'll bore you."

"No…"

"Yes."

"No…!"

"We're going to go through every book in this library." Grandma said sadly.

"No!" I shouted and slammed my head on the table.

"Yes!" Grandma yelled with the same tone of unwillingness as I had. "This is your grandfather's fault."

"Let's kill him."

"As much as I agree, we can't go on a killing spree. Besides, this is important for you." I rolled my eyes and felt a book hit my face. "Start with this one."

A couple of days have passed. Hiro and his group made it to Otogakure with no trouble. However, they all could sense they were being watched. It made them uncomfortable. Though, Hiro was excited to see Ellie. When they got to the clan compound, the guards let them in.

"Where do you think Kappa is?" Kyoya asked.

"She's probably training."

"We don't have time to waste here." Their sensei said strictly. The five of them went into the main house and was greeted by Kanade.

"Have you come to get your sister?" She asked.

"We came to talk to my grandparents." "They're in the main room. Go right in." Kanade bowed. Hiro stopped before going in. "How…is Ellie doing?"

"She's just fine. There's never been a dull moment. It's really fun to be her maid. I'll be sad when she leaves."

The group went into the main room. The two were surprised. "Hiro? I wasn't expecting you for a couple of days." His grandfather said.

"We need help."

"There's a shrine in the land of frost. Only someone with the Kotone kekkei genkai can release the jutsu on the toriis." Hiro spoke. He has never seen his grandparents look this serious before. It almost scared him. Not even his father could pull off that look. Was there something important about the seals?

"Why?" Hiro's grandmother asked dangerously.

"The village is affected by the seal at the shrine."

"How?" She questioned.

The peddler frowned. "The people used to be loving people until that shrine was cut off. There's a thick miasma around the village no one see." The two frowned.

"The seal must have been tampered with."

"Would it be possible for you to send someone to help us?" Keisuke asked, bowing lowly.

"We'll consider it. For now, rest and we'll have an answer by tomorrow."

"I have the answer now." Hiro looked at his grandfather.

"There is someone I have in mind who can help. They'll do just fine."

"Anyone will help." Hiro watched his grandfather leave the room. "That man is an idiot."

"Grandma."

"What?" She asked with a smile.

"How's Ellie?"

"She's coming along just fine. Don't worry about her, alright? She's having fun with Kanade every day." The door opened and Hiro's grandfather walked in.

"I have brought who will accompany you." The group saw a small figure walk in adorned in a red and green kimono. The outfit was beautiful and suited for a princess. A red parasol blocked their views from seeing the person's face.

"You may put the parasol down." Slowly, the parasol closed and went down. They all gasped.

"Ellie?!" Her hair was put up beautifully with gold ornaments. Her eyes seemed sharper.

"Does someone need my help again?" She spoke with the same teasing tone.

"You look different." Kyoya said.

"You look like a beautiful princess, Ellie." Yama said with a big smile. She looked at Hiro for his answer. "Ellie…" "Yes?" "Please never grow up!"


	6. Chapter 6

It seemed to have surprised my brother and his team that I was the one who would help them. The looks on their faces were priceless. Yet, their eyes were full of awe. I guess I did look different.

"So, shall we set off?" No one answered me. "They broke grandpa. This is your fault."

"You're wearing something I made specifically for you." I sighed and smacked Hiro with the parasol.

"What was that for?!" Hiro yelled with an imprint from the parasol on his face.

"You were staring weirdly." I said with a pout.

"Do you blame me? You don't even look like you. Why are you even wearing that anyway?" Hiro asked, pointing at the kimono I had on.

I crossed my arms. "I'm wearing it because grandpa had Kanade make it for me. She said these colors would bring out my beauty."

"Who's Kanade?!" Hiro yelled, not thinking straight. If he thought about it for a second, he'd know Kanade is a woman's name.

I pouted and hit Hiro with the parasol again. "Shut up. She's my maid and best friend. I won't allow you talking about her in a disrespectful tone." That shut everyone in the room up.

"I told you she'd be a good candidate for the head of the clan." Grandpa said, nudging grandma playfully.

"It's all thanks to our training." She replied with a smile.

"Our training only helped her. She's a natural-born leader." Grandpa replied. They were both staring at me with pride.

"So, when shall we leave?" I asked the team.

Keisuke chuckled lightly. He knew I was antsy to leave. "We'll leave tomorrow. We're all exhausted from the travel." He said.

"That's understandable. Well, I'm going to eat." I walked out the room.

"Don't just go so casually!" Hiro yelled but I ignored him. They all knew I thought with my stomach. I guess being gone from Hiro for a few weeks makes him forget how I am. That's a shame. Though, he always had a hard time remembering anything he doesn't want to remember.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Kanade. She knew my stomach schedule to the exact grumble. "I'm suspecting you're hungry. I made you something to eat." She said and pointed to a plate of fish and rice that was waiting for me.

"I love you, Kanade. Please come live with me. I'll even marry you!" I asked. I was completely serious. I'd do anything for her.

She laughed and hugged me tightly. "If I could, I'd go with you. I'm glad the outfit looks good on you."

"You're the one that made it after all." I replied happily.

"If you take care of it, you'll be able to give it to your daughter."

I scoffed. "Me? As a mother? You must be delusional."

She chuckled. "I must be." I turned serious which surprised Kanade. "Ellie?" She wasn't allowed to call me by my name. It was grandma's rules. However, I allowed it for when we were alone so she wouldn't get in trouble.

"Kanade…" She crouched to my level.

"What is it?" She asked tenderly.

"You'll never leave me, right?" I asked, allowing myself to be open and selfish for once.

"I'd never do that to you. The thought alone makes me sick."

"I have a bad feeling about this. I could sense something coming off my brother and the rest. It's upsetting my stomach." I confessed.

"There must be something horrible going on then."

"Will you wait for me to come back?"

"Of course." Kanade replied with a bright smile.

"I don't know why, but I'm scared of this mission. Something bad is going to happen."

Kanade frowned and then smiled. "I'm sure whatever it is, you'll get through it. After all, you're the strongest out of everyone here." She said.

"You think so?"

She nodded and stood up. "You have true strength unlike everyone else. You're truly one of a kind."

I sat at the table and started eating. I knew something was going to happen. I didn't know what it'd be and that worried me. It scared me. Sensei walked in and sat across from me. Kanade was doing the dishes. "So, Ellie, since you're the one helping us, you'll be getting get paid."

"I get money?!" I said with excitement and stars in my eyes.

"The hokage wants to pay the person who helps as a thank you."

"How much are we talking about?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

"Well, you'll be getting as much as I get from the mission."

"I need a rough estimate, Keisuke!"

"It's twice of what your brother is getting."

I frowned. "It's still not a number, but I'll let it slide. Does the hokage know it's me?"

"He doesn't and I'm not sure if he's going to like it or not." Keisuke admitted.

I gave him a mischievous smile. "It's okay. He'll have to accept it." "Ellie, why are you smiling like that? You're not planning anything, are you?"

The next day came. Kanade was helping me get ready. I changed out into a battle outfit instead of the one from yesterday. I had a black leotard on with thigh-high tights. A short, cream colored shoulder cape that hung off my shoulders hugged me. I was given shoes and finally a large cape that Hiro wore to fend off the cold. Kanade put my hair up in a ponytail.

"There are two more things." She said softly.

"What is it?" I asked her.

She pulled something out of her hair and put it in mine. It was a golden butterfly pin. "It was something my mother gave me before she died as a good luck charm. Now, I'm giving it to you."

"Why are you giving me something important?" I asked with wide eyes.

"You're important to me, Ellie. I want to protect you in any way I can. I won't be able to go on the mission with you, so this is my way of making sure you stay alive."

I smiled and hugged Kanade. "Thank you." She rubbed the top of my head. I then felt something lie against my shoulders and wrap around my neck. I pulled away and saw a cream colored scarf.

"Huh?" It was Kanade's scarf. "They're waiting for you. Go kick some ass."

At the village gates, my grandparents and Kanade saw us off. "Just do what we taught you, alright?" Grandpa said.

"I will."

"Protect your brother too. He can't dodge for shit."

"I know, grandma."

"Make sure you let them know you're in charge."

"They already know, grandpa."

"Don't be afraid to use force, Ellie."

"Yes, grandma." Kanade silently chuckled from behind the two.

"Leave her alone. We need to leave and it'll be me protecting her." Hiro said. We all turned to him. Grandpa took me aside.

"Remember our conversation, alright? Don't hide yourself. You'll end up lonely." He said seriously.

"I'll try."

"If all else fails, get a good man."

"Don't worry, grandpa. I'll have a line."

"Not like that, El." I giggled.

"Grandma, we need to leave." Hiro said.

"Okay! Ellie, be safe. I want to see my favorite grandchild alive." Hiro sighed with his head hung low. Kanade smiled widely at me. "Good luck, princess."

Hiro kept staring at me while we traveled. "What is it?" I asked.

"You matured."

"I haven't."

"He's right. You seem more confident and stronger." Yama pointed out.

"I've always been like this. No one has ever seen it before." I muttered quietly.

A couple of days later, we got to the village. I felt like I wanted to puke. The village was nauseating to be in. I wanted to run away and go anywhere else but here. "Are you doing alright?" Kyoya asked.

"Do you all not feel it?" I asked them.

"Feel what?" The peddler asked.

"It's nothing. I guess I'm not feeling the best after all that travel."

We kept walking deeper into the village. Since I'm in tune with my kekkei genkai, I can feel the chaos in the village. It was strange. In the compound, they're all trained to be as silent as possible because our hearing is sensitive. This was different. We all stopped at the torii. I fell onto my knees and puked. I couldn't hold it in anymore. This alarmed everyone. "Ellie!"

"What's the matter? Are you sick?" Hiro asked.

"Whoever tried breaking this damn seal caused an imbalance. I can hardly take it." I commented.

"You can sense the seal?" They asked. "Of course I can. I could when we arrived."

Standing up, I put my hand onto the torii and looked at the writing. 'Those who wonder from the given path perish. Those who stay on the given path will also perish. We all will perish. Only the songs will stay.' I internally thanked grandma for throwing every book at me.

"Well?" Sensei asked.

"Tsubasa Kotone, second generation Kotone."

"Huh?" They all questioned.

"She used to hate humanity for what it did to her." I said.

"What happened?" Hiro asked.

"Her parents were murdered in cold blood because they were different. She died young at the age of twenty-five on the battlefield. It was when she was bleeding to death she finally saw how beautiful the world is. These words were the ones she'd say to the clansmen." I explained to everyone.

"The writing on the torii…" Hiro trailed off.

I nodded sadly. "Despite her immense hatred, she was a coward at heart. Her seals would never cause this. Something must have happened."

"What can you do to fix it?" The peddler asked me.

"Well, did you happen to take anything from the offerings?"

I noticed the peddler's eyes widen. "The box! I found it outside of the shrine." I took the box he gave me from my bag.

"This is why you don't mess around with something you don't know about."

"I-I'm sorry. I wasn't aware or else I would have left it alone." He apologized.

"You ended up causing all of this, you know? You better be ready to repent for your sins." I said seriously.

"Ellie?" I looked at Hiro.

"What? I'm telling the truth. The Kotone don't take lightly to those who mess with our shrines." I turned my back to them.

"I'll be back."

"Be careful."

"I'll be just fine. Once I'm inside, no one can get in. Just be careful out here."

"We will." Yama said with a bright smile. I walked passed the torii and felt serenity.

"That's weird. Usually, it'd be a lot worse on the inside. That's what was written in the books anyway." I hummed and walked up the stairs, passed the torii. It wasn't even cold. It was warm, as if it was spring. There were birds chirping without a care. The box in my hand didn't react in any way. So, the removal of the box wasn't the cause of this. In fact, the entire shrine was fine. The only reason it isn't affected is because of the Kotone seal itself. It wouldn't allow anything from the outside in.

At the shrine itself, I put the box back where it belonged. "Well, it seems like I won't be solving this puzzle any longer. It was fun while it lasted." I saw Tsubasa's picture of when she was a child. It was a drawn picture. She looked beautiful even though she was shown as being fourteen years old. "I'm glad you were able to change your view on the world even if was at the end. Even though there's a lot of suffering, there's a lot of happiness too. I think everyone has their part of suffering and happiness, though some people have more of one. It isn't fair, but I think those who have more happiness than others aren't strong enough to handle the suffering. You must have been really strong to have dealt with everything." I took one more look before leaving. When I got back to everyone, they were confused. "I'd thought everything would be fixed." The peddler commented.

"Well, if there was something to be fixed, I would have fixed it." I said.

"You mean the shrine isn't the one causing this?" The peddler asked me.

"That's right. Something else is at play here. I think we should walk around and find clues."

"What can that accomplish?" Kyoya spat at me. He didn't like when I took control of things.

"It can help find out what's really happening in the village. I say we split up." Sensei said to calm Kyoya down.

"I'll go with Ellie." Hiro said.

"I'll be with her." Sensei said.

"Why? I can protect her!"

"You can, but it's my responsibility to make sure she's protected. It's the hokage's order." No one could say anything after that. We all split our separate ways.

"You've been acting differently since we left. Why is that?" Keisuke asked.

"I'm not acting this time." I replied honestly.

"Huh?"

"Grandpa told me to not hide my real self from others."

Sensei rubbed the top of my head. "Sometimes, it's good to hide your real self to others. I always knew there was more to you. So, what shall we do now?"

I hummed in thought. "I want to see some of the villagers. I don't know anything other than Kotone seals, but this whole thing is bizarre."

"How so?" He asked.

"Logically, it could be the Kotone shrine that can cause the miasma surrounding the village, but inside, everything was peaceful. It felt like spring. It has to be something else causing this." Sensei nodded. "Is…there a way to speak with Kushina?" I asked quietly.

"Her? I can give her a message, but it'll be a couple of days."

I groaned, not liking the time it'll take. "Tell the hokage I need to speak with her. It's important."

"Yes, ma'am."

After the message was sent, the two of us walked around. We went into a tea house. I got a green tea to warm myself up. I could hear the villagers spouting about their lives and useless rumors. Nothing I heard was relevant. The waitress gave us our drinks. My green tea was weirdly darker than normal. That was odd. Sensei noticed it too. I put a finger in the drink and instantly took it out.

"What were you thinking? It's hot." He said.

"Sensei, boiling water doesn't bother me like it would you."

"What is it then?" I looked at my finger and saw it beat red.

"There's something wrong with the water. My finger is in pain." I said, keeping my focus on my finger.

"How is everything?" The waitress came over with a smile. "It's all going well. May I ask where you get your water?" I asked her.

"We get it from the freshwater river nearby."

"Thank you. The water has a unique, wonderful taste. I was wondering where it came from." She instantly brightened up.

"You're very welcome. We pride ourselves on our freshwaters." She went to another table in a better mood.

"Let's take a look later tonight." I suggested.

"Tonight?"

"We don't know if there's a person involved. The water could be guarded. Besides, people will be asleep and not wondering around."

"The little genius figured something out." Keisuke said in a song like tone.

I sighed and shook my head. "I'm sure it could be a different issue. Though, this is still a serious concern." After secretly dumping out drinks, we all met at the peddler's house.

"What did you guys find?" Yama asked everyone.

"We found nothing." Hiro said.

"Well, Ellie found out the freshwater is contaminated. It might lead us to a clue to figuring everything out." Everyone stared at me with surprise.

"Or it could be a whole other issue in itself." I said with crossed arms. There was no way contaminated water could cause a physical miasma around an entire village. The more I thought about it, the more I could see the possibility, but that was going far into imagination land. I couldn't think of a logical connection between the miasma and water.

Keisuke, Yama, and I went to go find the freshwater river. We kept Hiro and Kyoya back at the house to protect the peddler. Hiro complained, but Yama talked him out of going with us. It was a thing he was good at. Thankfully, Keisuke could see that I'm always on edge when I'm with Hiro. It wasn't anything against him. It was me. The entire village was dark. Only the light of the moon was our only source to see. Though the light was dim, it was good enough for me. We couldn't make any unnecessary noises. I strained my ears and could faintly hear water. Following that sound, we eventually found the river in the middle of the village. It was a massive river. I walked over and crouched to feel the water. My hand didn't hurt the same way the tea did. Though, I still experienced some numbness.

"Well?" Keisuke asked.

"I want a sample." Yama gave me a small jar. After collecting my sample, we all left. I took one look behind me and knew something was terribly off and I didn't like it one bit.

The next day, a toad appeared. "I'm here on behalf of the hokage." I let out a small noise of pure awe.

"What's the matter?" Hiro asked me.

I took the toad and hugged him. "You're adorable!"

"Put me down! I'm a messenger, not a toy!" I reluctantly set him down. "Anyway, the hokage will grant your wish of speaking to Kushina. When you're ready, I'll connect you."

Sensei looked at me. "Are you ready?" He asked me. I looked at the fire and saw the water I collected starting to boil.

"I'm ready."

The frog opened its mouth.

"Hello there." The hokage said.

"Thank you for talking to us, hokage." Sensei thanked him.

"Where's Kushina?" I asked, ignoring the hokage completely.

"I'm right here, sweetie." She said happily. I guess Keisuke already told the hokage I was the one helping with the mission.

"I have a question that needs your expertise. Can a seal make a whole village miserable or make a large miasma in and around the village."

She hummed at my question. "There isn't a single seal like that, but it could be a combination of things. Is the Kotone shrine not the culprit?" She asked.

"It isn't. In fact, it's absolutely peaceful inside."

"There could be a containment barrier around the village, but that wouldn't explain the miasma." She commented.

"Isn't there something else you wanted to discuss?" The hokage asked. That's when I noticed the water boiling.

"Yes. We checked for any genjutsu around the village and found nothing. We're all stumped on what this could be." Keisuke explained. I walked over and poured it into a cup. The water had darkened. I put a finger in and yelped with pain.

"Ellie?" They all asked with concern.

"You idiot! Don't just stick your finger in boiling water!" Kyoya yelled at me.

"Leave me be!"

Keisuke sighed and beckoned me over. "Is there another thing?" The hokage asked him.

"There's something in the water that's poisoning its residence." It was silent for a whole minute.

"What?!" Everyone but sensei yelled.

"What do you mean?" The hokage asked.

"When we had tea, the green tea was three shades darker than is should be. I put a finger in and it burned me." I explained.

"It was hot tea." Hiro pointed out.

"You really are an idiot that doesn't pay attention. I'm sensitive to water. The waitress said the water came from a freshwater river and they prided themselves in the water. My body loves freshwater. My body shouldn't reject it."

"Is the river darker as well?" The hokage asked me.

"We checked and it's clear. I even stuck my hand in. It didn't hurt, but my hand was numb. So, I collected a small sample. When it's boiled, the water darkens. I don't know what it is or if it's to blame for the main mission, but this is still something serious to look at." I mentioned. I had to be as professional as I could be.

"Ellie…" Hiro said with shock.

"I'm so proud of you, Ellie! You're my little genius!" Kushina shouted with love. She was proud of me. I knew she'd be hugging me if she was here.

"Have any of the villagers suspected anything?" The hokage asked.

"They probably don't. It could have been something that's been getting worse over time. Since we are in a colder region, tea and hot drinks make perfect sense. With tea, it's surely unnoticeable to people." I explained.

"Wait! So the reason you always stick your finger in water before you drink isn't some weird thing?!" Hiro pointed at me.

"I'll make you drink this water if you don't shut up." I threatened. Yama rubbed the top of my head. We all heard the hokage chuckle.

"This just gets more interesting as time progresses." The hokage mused.

"Sir?" Keisuke questioned.

"Your intelligence is above your peers, Ellie. You should be proud." The hokage commented.

"I get it from my mamas."

"I'll leave you my toad. He'll protect you, Ellie, and make sure you aren't hurt."

"If anything, I'd have to protect my brother and his idiot teammate." "Hah, she called you an idiot." Yama said looking at Kyoya. "Kappa!"

Minato laughed when he cut the transmission. Kushina had the biggest smile on her face while the rest of the people in the room were completely shocked.

"I'm so proud of my goddaughter. She really shines when she wants." Kushina said as if she was Ellie's actual mother.

"Well, gentlemen, what do you think of this?" Minato looked at three men. In front of him were the previous hokage, the Nara clan head, and the Yamanaka clan head. They were all amused and shocked.

"How old is she?" The Nara asked.

"She's seven, turning eight in a few months." Kushina replied.

"If it wasn't for the voice, I would have thought you were talking to an adult."

"She isn't meant to be taken lightly. Her sensing ability is strong for her age. I'm not sure about her physical strength, but her though processes is years above others her age and much older." Minato said with a smile. The third hokage smiled brightly.

"She isn't even a shinobi and yet thinks like one." The Yamanaka clan head spoke.

"I guess it's true to say the Kasai have the most loyal and strongest soldiers."


	7. Chapter 7

For the past couple of days, nothing has happened. There wasn't anything that was suspicious or gave us a reason to be suspicious. The three boys were guarding the water and nothing happened. No one even went near the river. It pissed me off. I thought I was onto something good, but I guess I was wrong. I went to Tsubasa's shrine to waste some time. I wasn't needed by the team. The hokage's toad was in my arms.

"What is this?" He asked me.

"It's a shrine." I walked right in making him gasp.

"The air is so clean!" He said with awe.

I chuckled and walked up the stairs. "You see, this is where Tsubasa Kotone decided to put her shrine."

"A shrine just for her?" He asked. He was focused on the area more than anything.

I nodded happily. "Because of her immense power, she was seen as a god by many and the devil to others."

"So, not just anyone in the Kotone clan gets a shrine."

"That's right. There are six shrines around the world dedicated to a specific member of the Kotone clan."

"Will you be able to get a shrine?" The toad asked curiously, looking up at me.

"I'm not that strong, so I'm not counting on it."

We sat down and talked for what seemed to be hours. He was surprised to know I could breathe under water. An explosion could be heard right outside the shrine. My heart dropped with worry. "What was that?" I asked. The toad fought his way out of my arms and started running towards the entrance.

"You stay here. I'll go check." He shouted.

"Don't! If you leave, you won't be able to enter again!" He didn't listen. He was too far gone. I panicked when I heard another explosion.

"Calm down, Ellie. You can't be scared. There's nothing scarier than mama when she's mad. Yes! Of course! I'm sure it's just Kyoya pulling a prank on me. No one would attack me. I'm too damn cute!" I tried talking to calm me down, but it wasn't helping. Even the calmness of the shrine wasn't helping. I stood up with shaky legs. Another explosion. I flinched. "Itachi…what do I do?" He'd always come to me for help, but I still needed support. He knew that. I took a step and swallowed my tears. I reached up to feel the hairpin on the side of my head. "Kanade…" I can clearly remember her words. It's her way of protecting me. It's her good luck charm. Nodding to myself I walked down after looking at Tsubasa one more time.

Outside of the shrine, I saw a disastrous scene. Yama, Kyoya, and Hiro were lying on the ground. They weren't moving at all. They weren't making any noise. I could hardly hear their breaths. I heard the clash of kunai. Keisuke was fighting a man with red hair and blue eyes. I ran to Hiro's side.

"Hiro." Nothing. I shook him. Nothing. "Big brother?" Nothing. Tears welled up in my eyes, my hands shook with fear. "Big brother! Wake up! Big brother!"

"K-Kappa…" Kyoya's voice was quiet and strained. I ran over to him.

"Kyoya!"

"You need to get out of here. That man wants to kill you." He said weakly. I looked and saw Keisuke knocked back.

"But…"

"No buts! We'll make it. I don't want…I don't want to see Hiro cry because I let you die. I don't want to see Yama destroyed because I couldn't protect you." Kyoya said, slowly sitting up.

"Kyoya…" I saw Yama sitting up from the corner of my eye.

"Go." Yama said.

"I can't." I said. Kyoya fully sat up and set his hand on top of my head.

"Don't do it for us. Do it for your brother."

"Listen to them, Ellie! This is a direct order!" Keisuke yelled, making the enemy take notice in me.

"So, that's the Kotone. Oh well. She'll do just fine." The man mused before licking his lips.

"I won't allow…" I heard Hiro's voice. "I won't allow you to touch my baby sister!" Hiro, Kyoya, and Yama stood up.

"We'll take care of things, Ellie." Hiro said.

"Even so…"

Kyoya pushed me back. "Go before you end up getting killed. If you die, there won't be anyone saving me from drowning." I nodded and took a step back before running with tears in my eyes. I had to go. This was out of my league. I had to trust them.

"I won't let you get inside!" The man yelled and ran at me. I looked back with wide eyes. My focus was pinpointed on the kunai in his hand.

"Don't let him touch you! He can cause explosions with touch!" Keisuke shouted. It was too late. I was at the entrance, but he was faster than me. I had a hand through the first torii. The shrine was pulling me in. It was trying to protect me. I let out a scream from pain. He had touched my leg. "Ellie!" They yelled.

The torii blew up. My eyes widened. "The torii…" The man stood behind me.

"Where are you going to run now, little girl?" He questioned.

"Tsubasa's torii…the first one always represents the heart. Why?" I turned to him with pure anger and hurt. "Why did you destroy her heart?! Why did you hurt my family?!" The man blew back from a harsh wind. The shrine itself was creating wind around itself. My left ankle was bleeding heavily. I needed water. I needed time to stop. I needed Kanade. I needed mama. I needed everything that I couldn't have. The wind wrapped around my wound. "Huh?" There wasn't pain. The only thing I could feel was the warmth from the wind. I was at a lost. I never feel this way. Hiro ran to me but was blown away.

"Ellie!" He shouted.

"Big brother…I'm scared."

"It'll be alright. I'll protect you." Hiro tried again, but was blown away. 'Stay away.' A haunting voice spoke. My eyes widened. Where did that voice come from?

"This is very interesting. Injuring a Kotone will only bring chaos." The man said with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"I only wanted this little experiment to last a few weeks, but no. It took years." He laughed with madness. "I wasted years of my life on this?" He questioned himself. I was only an experiment to him. He didn't have any qualms about killing me, killing my big brother. My fingers dug into the sand. "I wonder what would happen if all the torii are destroyed."

"Unforgivable." I struggled to get up. "Unforgivable." I could hardly stand. "You hurt my brother, my family. You even destroyed Tsubasa's heart. I don't care if I'm hurt. I don't care what happens to me. I won't let you destroy anything else of mine!" I yelled, making the wind go wild. I didn't know where this courage came from. I didn't feel like myself.

"Ellie!" Hiro yelled out to me. 'Sing. Sing the song.' The haunting voice whispered into my ears. I took a deep breath and stared right at the man. The words that came out of my mouth couldn't be understood by anyone but those special enough to receive the training I did. Even grandma didn't want to teach me, but she had to. I saw Hiro and the rest fall to the ground in pain. I now know why it was forbidden, why it was so dangerous. I couldn't stop singing. No. Make it stop. I don't want to hear their cries of pain. I didn't want this! I didn't want them to die! Tears were falling like waterfalls. I was killing them. I was killing my big brother, my protector. He's the only one I can go to for anything.

"Stop it, Ellie!" My eyes widened. Grandma stared at me with shock. Why was she here? How did she get here? I shook my head and kept singing. She ran and was stopped by the wind. "Tsubasa! You're going to end up killing her! This isn't what you wanted. Don't let your anger do this." Grandpa was right behind her.

"They won't stop. Not only is Ellie highly distressed, but the first torii is destroyed." Grandma said. The two looked at each other.

"Ellie, please don't be mad." She said with an innocent smile. What? Why would I get mad at them?

"This is for your own good, okay?" I nodded, not knowing what they meant. Grandma started to sing while grandpa stood behind her with his arms around her. This was nothing I've ever heard. My voice stopped completely, but the wind kept going strong. Why were their bodies glowing? They were smiling happily. Something was wrong. Stop. Stop singing. Once they stopped, the wind calmed down. They hugged me.

"We're sorry, Ellie, but it had to be done to save you." Grandma said softly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Grandpa kissed my forehead. "Either way, I'll still see you get married. Though, it'll be from afar."

My eyes widened, realizing what they had done. "No…"

"You really are as smart as your grandfather said." She said with a bright smile.

"This is my fault." I said.

They shook their heads. "This isn't your fault, sweetie. None of this is your fault." Grandpa reassured me.

"We were nearing our time anyway. I'm glad we were able to stop you in time." Grandma said.

"Don't go!" Their hug tightened.

"When the wind stops, I want you to sing the loudest you've ever sang. I want it to be so loud where you'll shame all the Kotone up there. Take all of the anguish and turn it into a beautiful song. Shake the heavens above." Grandma said as a whisper.

"Remember, Ellie. We're always with you."

The wind came to a stop. Their bodies fell onto the snow completely lifeless. "Ellie!" Hiro, Kyoya, and Yama ran to me. When they got to me, they all gasped. I looked up at Hiro.

"Big brother." He hugged me.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't save you in time." He said.

"I need to go." I softly pushed him away, but he kept me in his arms.

"Huh?"

Once he let go, I stood up. "Ellie?"

"I'll sing." I announced.

"You can't." Hiro said with shock.

"I'll sing so loud you'll hear it. They'll all hear. I'll make heaven shake with my voice." The three looked at me with shock.

"Ellie…" 'Sing.' The voice was back again. 'I'll help you.' It couldn't be, could it? Was this Tsubasa? Was she the haunting voice from before? 'I'll lend you my power.' I nodded and stared at the man. He smirked.

"What now? Are you going to yell at me? You're powerless!" The enemy spat. He was laughing at me.

"Step back, sensei." I said softly. That unexpected courage came back.

"Ellie?"

"Step back!" My voice had Tsubasa's voice underlining it. Music was playing in my head. No. Everyone could hear it. "I can hear the music…" Yama said with shock.

"Not even mom can do that." Hiro said with awe.

I took a deep breath and started singing. However, Tsubasa's voice could be heard as if we were singing a duet with changing parts. I glared at the man and felt the wind blow against me. It was Tsubasa. She was the one controlling the wind. I took a step and thanks to the wind, I was propelled with great speed. The man couldn't react. I kneed him in the face, sending him backwards. I collected the kunai on the ground and gave him no time to react. I kept singing as loudly as I could. Even Tsubasa sang just as loud. The man got up and was stabbed by multiple kunai. He looked at me with fear. I'll make him remember this face. Tsubasa pulled me back. The man got up and pulled the kunai out. We were almost through the song and I was getting exhausted. 'Just a little more and then we can let the boys deal with the rest.' I nodded and got into a position I saw father do a million times.

"It can't be! You know that move?!" Hiro commented with awe.

I turned to my side with my right foot behind me as an anchor. My left foot stayed in front, on point. I only had one chance and one chance only to get this right. I inhaled deeply and let out a battle cry. I pushed off the earth. The wind pushed me to my target. The water from my tears flew back. The heat of my body radiated. A large flame showed itself on my right hand. I made contact and was pulled back by Tsubasa. I fell onto my knees.

'Well done, little one. Now, sleep.' Keisuke and Kyoya detained the man while Hiro and Yama ran to me.

"Ellie! Are you alright?" Hiro asked.

"Big brother…you're not hurt, are you?"

He shook his head and smiled. "I'm invincible, remember?"

"Am I in trouble for this?" I asked.

"You saved us again, Ellie. Get some rest." Yama said in a soothing voice. I closed my eyes and opened them to find myself at the shrine.

"Huh? Why am I here?" I questioned.

"I called you." I turned and saw a woman with medium length purple hair and gold eyes.

"Who are you?" She pouted. "We just sang together and you can't even recognize me." "Tsubasa?!"

"It's weird to hear my name after a few hundred years." She walked over and sat across from me. She bowed deeply. "Please forgive me, little one. It's my fault for what happened." I remembered what happened.

"It was my fault." I said.

"I was the one that overpowered you. I've never been able to control my anger. I guess the same can be told about the afterlife as well." She looked at me with a frown. She looked like mama with a different hair color.

"I don't know what to think." I said honestly.

"I expected that. I wanted to speak with you to give you something to make up for this." She said.

"There's nothing you can give me to bring my grandparents back."

"I know." She touched my left ankle. It started feeling weird. She smiled gently. "I'll lend you my wind. Whenever you need me, just call my name."

"You can't be doing this just because you overpowered me, right?" I asked.

She stuck her tongue out playfully. "I've never had that fun singing. I've never felt that alive before. Thank you, Ellie."

When I woke up, I saw Hiro and sensei. "Ellie!" They all said with excitement.

"Huh? Where am I?"

"We're still in the land of frost." Keisuke said quietly. I nodded and sat up. My ankle was wrapped up.

"Big brother." I held out my arms and he hugged me tightly. I didn't care if I was acting my age. I wanted to feel I was finally safe. The toad jumped onto my lap.

"Good job, kid." I gave a small smile.

"I really want to go home." I admitted.

"We just wanted you to wake up first." Keisuke said.

"Where's everyone else?"

"They went back to Otogakure." My heart clenched with pain.

"By the way, your assumption was right." I looked at Keisuke. "Huh?" "That man slowly poisoned the village in order to destroy the Kotone shrine."

"I was right?" I was shocked.

"You were right." I held my face with disbelief. "I figured it out. I thought I was wrong." Hiro hugged me again. "You're so adorable!" When we left, Hiro was carrying me on his back. The way back to Otogakure wasn't long, but it was still tiring.

When we got back, everything was quiet. I could hear a commotion. At the compound, the people that saw me had either anger or sorrow on their face. I noticed they were all injured. Something happened. Satoshi, my grandma's second hand man, walked to me and bowed.

"Princess."

"What happened here?" I questioned.

"We were all attacked." He said.

"Who attacked you?"

"We don't know. It was a surprise attack." He then handed me a box.

"What's this?"

"Kanade." My eyes widened.

"Where is she? What happened? Is she hurt?" I questioned quickly. I needed to make sure she was alright.

"I'm sorry, princess." He didn't look me in the eyes. Kanade, my best friend, wasn't alive. She was dead.

"No…"

"We're deeply sorry. She died beautifully." I took the box.

"Did she say anything before she died?" He nodded.

"She spoke of you, wishing for your happiness."

"Thank you." He stood up and left. "Ellie…" I kept walking, biting my lip. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I wouldn't allow myself to cry. If I did, I wouldn't be able to move.

The trip back to Konoha was quiet. No one spoke and if they did, it was quiet. Sure, I was happy I helped the mission, but I still lost my grandparents and my best friend. I gripped the scarf tightly. When we got to the village, we went straight to the hokage's office. Inside, Kushina ran to me.

"Ellie!" She hugged me and when I didn't react, she let go. "Ellie?"

"Kushina…" Keisuke said quietly.

"What happened?" The hokage asked.

"There…were two casualties." Everyone looked at me. I knew the hokage wanted to ask who, but he didn't know if I should be here or not. I lifted my head.

"My grandparents were the two casualties. I will take full responsibility for their deaths." My ankle throbbed.

"Huh?" He and Kushina questioned softly.

"I was overpowered because of the Kotone shrine. Grandma sang and used her and grandpa's life force to save me. They sacrificed themselves for me. It's my fault for not being strong enough to handle the power." The room went cold.

"Ellie…" I heard Kushina say under her breath.

"How did the rest of the mission go?" The hokage said to change the subject. He still kept his eyes on me.

"It went successfully. Ellie was right. It was the poison in the water that caused everything to go bad. It was a domino effect." The hokage smiled at me. It made me feel a little better.

"Good job, Ellie. You'll be heavily rewarded." The hokage said. I smiled.

"Can I have my portion plus half of big brother's?"

"Huh?!" Hiro questioned.

"It's not like he has a girlfriend or lives alone. He's a mama's boy." The room burst into laughter. Joking made the room lighten up, but it didn't help me. "Oh and part of Kyoya's part too. He's an even worse mama's boy."

"Kappa!"

"Very well."

"Hokage!" The two boys shouted.

"What? She basically completed the mission. She isn't a shinobi."

"Or a student." Yama said.

"Or properly trained." Keisuke commented.

The insults kept piling onto their shoulders. Soon, it was just me and sensei in the room with the hokage and Kushina. "Did anything else happen?" He asked.

"The Kotone were attacked." Keisuke said. "Oh no." I bit my lip. "Ellie?" "Kanade…my best friend died protecting everyone." I struggled to get out.

My hands were clutching the box tightly. "This is everything she had left." I refused to cry. She hated when I cried. She'd say it wasn't fit for a princess to cry. Kushina hugged me tightly.

"It'll be alright. Right now, it hurts. It'll hurt a whole lot. It'll take a while to heal. I'll always be here for you." I nodded. "You don't have to hold everything in." I shook my head.

"A princess isn't supposed to cry. It's what she always told me." Kushina smiled brightly.

"Do you want to come over for some warm milk and honey?"

"I want to go home." "Let's go." Kushina walked all the way home with me. It was comforting to hear her babble about how her days were without me. The warmth of Konoha felt better than the cold. When I got home, mama ran to me. She hugged me tightly. I could tell she's been crying for a while. "My baby girl." She kissed my forehead. "I'm so glad you're safe." I went to open my mouth, but she stopped me. "Hiro told me everything. You don't have to say a word." She smiled and rubbed my cheek. "My strong girl is growing up and surpassing even her own mother."

"Huh?"

"You know, not everyone can go into the Kotone shrine." Mama teased.

"Really?" I was shocked. Then it hit me. Hiro should have been able to go in.

"Only really strong Kotone are allowed to enter." She said.

"So, that means I'm getting a shrine?" She started laughing.

"If that's what you want, then you'll get a shrine."

"I want a big one on top of a huge hill so I'm at my rightful place." I said.

"Your rightful place?" Kushina asked me. I nodded. "From there, I'll be able to look down on everyone."

"You're full of it." Mama poked my cheek. I pouted. "Can I go home now? I'm hungry and my ankle hurts."

"Go right ahead. I'm sure you'd love to swim in your pond." We were all hurting in some way and even though it was painful, it felt nice to be home.


	8. Chapter 8

It's been a week since I got back. I told Itachi what happened and he froze up per usual. Seeing him try and comfort me was funny. He doesn't know how to act around girls. He just sucked at it. Today, I was called to the hokage's office. There, I saw the hokage, Keisuke, and two weird men.

"Thank you for coming, Ellie." The hokage greeted.

"Why was I called here?" I asked, looking at the men with suspicion.

"I was playing a game of shogi and thought you'd like to play against someone who's highly intelligent. I know you like a challenge and thought of you." The hokage said.

"Why? Is it against one of the old men?" I asked, turning my head towards the two men.

"These are the clan heads of the Nara and Yamanaka."

"Greetings. I'm the future clan head of something." They seemed confused.

"Ellie." Sensei karate chopped my head lightly. I pouted.

"I'd like you to play against the Nara clan head." The hokage said. I sat on the couch while the man sat in front of me. "Take your time, Ellie." The hokage said. I looked up at my opponent. "Yes?" He questioned. "I'll sweep the floor with you."

After a couple of hours, I was beaten. "You cheated!" I pointed at my opponent.

"I didn't cheat. You're the one who cheated more than once." The Nara clan head said.

"Liar! Those moves were legal. You're just too much of a coward to admit you couldn't think of a brilliant plan." I said, looking down on him.

"T-they weren't legal! I beat you fair and square. Just admit defeat."

"Never!" He laughed at me.

"You'll always lose against me, little girl." Before I could do anything, Keisuke held me in his arms. I was kicking and wiggling in his arms.

"I'll drown you! I'll make you suffer! I'm not little!" This only made him laugh at me more.

"Calm down, Ellie." Keisuke said.

"I'll drown you too!" The hokage walked over and rubbed the top of my head.

"Now, Ellie, that isn't any way to act after losing." He said softly.

I glared at him. "Sit down." His body fell to the ground.

"No! Bad! You can't use your kekkei genkai like that." Keisuke put his hand over my mouth. I was growling like a beast.

"My, she's very violent." The Yamanaka said, amused at me.

Keisuke had me sitting in his lap. His hand was still over my mouth. "Let's make a deal. If you come play shogi with me every week, I'll teach you everything about calculating shogi moves." The Nara clan head said. It was a good proposal. My eyes grew in size. He'd do that? I took Keisuke's hand off my mouth.

"Why? You have nothing to gain." I pointed out.

"You're wrong. I finally have a formable opponent. Plus, the village will gain your brilliant mind. What do you say?" He held his hand out.

I hummed, thinking things over. "Will there be food involved?" I asked him.

"Of course."

"Deal." I shook his hand with a smile immediately. "You know, you could have just said there would be food." "Huh?"

"You shouldn't think with your stomach." Keisuke said.

"No complaining." I said.

"Well, Ellie, it'll be fun having you over."

"It'll be fun eating your food." They all laughed. I was serious about my statement. Food is the best way to win me over.

A year has passed. Nothing spectacular has happened. I'm about nine now. Itachi has a new baby brother. I haven't been able to sneak over, but I've been told he's adorable. I hope he isn't like Itachi when it comes to girls. Kushina was also heavily pregnant. She's been so happy every single day, but I knew that was a mask. She was worried about something. I could hear it in her voice. Today, I met up with Itachi. We trained again today. Both of us have been improving. There was something rustling in the trees. The two of us stopped.

"Itachi?" Itachi stood in front of me to hide me from a woman. "So, this is where you've been disappearing to all this time. Who's that behind you? Is she your friend?" I looked down at Itachi and couldn't help but laugh. I was taller than him. No matter what he did, I couldn't be hidden. I stepped out from behind Itachi and bowed.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm Ellie Kasai. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh! A blue haired Kasai is certainly strange, but beautiful. I'm Itachi's mother. Thank you for taking care of him."

His mother was a kind, beautiful woman. "Your brother woke up and I thought you'd like to spend some time with him." Itachi nodded. "Would you like to come as well?" She asked me.

"Yes! Itachi has told me a lot about Sasuke. I hope he's as adorable as Itachi described." His face turned red.

"E-Ellie!" Itachi protested.

I chuckled and poked his cheek. "I'm only picking on you, silly." He pouted.

The two of us followed Itachi's mom all the way to their compound. We walked inside the house and heard a baby cry. I walked over and saw Sasuke. My mouth opened. He was so adorable. Sasuke looked at me and stopped crying. He was too focused on my eyes probably because he hasn't seen gold eyes before.

"I think he likes you." Itachi's mom said.

"Hi, Sasuke. I'm Ellie, your big brother's best friend." Since he was still too young, he couldn't make any facial expressions. He started crying when he saw Itachi. "See? I told you scowling would make babies cry."

"Ellie…" I started to sing a lullaby. It was one mama used to sing to me. Sasuke stopped crying and just watched me, slowly closing his eyes.

"That was amazing. Even I can't get him to stop fussing that quickly." Itachi's mom said with surprise.

"I take after my mama after all." She looked surprised.

"You're Ayane's child?"

"I am." I gave a small bow.

"I should have guessed. You have her eyes and mannerisms. Even the mischievous look you give off is the exact same." I chuckled, holding my arms behind my back. "You should have told me you were friends with her, Itachi. Then, you wouldn't have to sneak around. You're lucky your father hasn't noticed."

"I'm sorry."

"Lighten up, Itachi. You'll get stress lines by the time you're twenty." I pulled at his cheeks. He was making sounds of struggle. I let go and heard a door slide open. "Thank you for letting me stay, but I'll take my leave." I said.

"Why?" She asked me.

"My existence is taboo and isn't really known to many. My father doesn't like when I wander off." She smiled sadly. "Be safe."

A week passed. I was bored, so I went to Kushina. "Ellie!" She hugged me tightly.

"Mama, I'm bored." I got into the habit of calling Kushina mama. She mostly forced it on me, but she was technically my mom.

"Why do you always come to me when you're bored? Why can't you come to visit?" She whined.

"You train me when I come over. No one else does." She laughed lightly and brought me to the kitchen.

"Now, Ellie, let's start off where we stopped."

"Yes, ma'am." Like Kushina promised, she's been teaching me about her clan techniques. I could do simple seals and was starting to learn about chakra chains. It was interesting. The chains could hold down a target, take their chakra, and even seal them and their chakra away. It was something that'd be fun to use for practice when I master it. I can already see Hiro's team struggling. Kushina poked my forehead.

"You need years to master this technique."

"Yes, ma'am!" While I was practicing, I could sense some distress from Kushina. "Something's wrong."

"What is it?" She asked.

"You're distressed about something."

"I'm not." She said.

"You are. I can tell." I replied.

"I'm not distressed."

"Someone is and it's bothering me."

A couple of months had passed. Kushina's stomach was even bigger than before. It looked like she was going to burst. I never thought it was possible for a stomach to get that big. Today, I went to the Nara compound. Shikaku stared at me and sighed.

"The annoying brat is here, dad." Shikaku and I had a strange relationship. We both liked and disliked each other. On good days, we'd annoy the hell out of his dad. On bad days, I'd try to drown him. There was no middle ground.

"I see your mother woke you up from your nap." I said, hiding a chuckle. Shikaku scoffed at my comment and walked away.

"Even though he's an adult, he acts like a child. Hopefully, his fiancé will change him." His father said.

"He's a Nara. He'll never change his ways."

"I feel like you're insulting me as well." He commented.

"Where did you get that idea from?" I asked in a strained voice making him laugh.

"Let's play a game and have some snacks. After, I'll let you play with the deer." "Okay."

After three hours, I finally defeated him. I stared at the board with shock. "No way…"

"You beat me." He said with the same disbelief.

I looked at him. "There must have been a mistake." I said, trying to reason with my unexpected win.

"There wasn't." He had a proud smile on his face.

"I actually did it. I beat you." I said, looking at my hands with disbelief.

He chuckled. "Congratulations, Ellie. It's been fun to play against you."

"Huh?" I looked up and tilted my head.

"Initially, I wanted to train your mind until you could beat me."

"Why?" I asked.

His smile was gentle. "The hokage doesn't want your potential to go to waste. When I first played against you, I was mad you almost won. For me, I just wanted to wipe the floor with you over and over again. The same could be said for you as well. The hokage can see a bright and brilliant future for you and wants you to be as strong as you can be." I nodded, taking everything in. A deer walked over to me and licked my cheek, looking for food. "This little one is ready for a snack. Come along, Ellie. I'll teach you some more about the deer."

Days were passing and everyone was getting more worried. It wasn't the civilians. It was the shinobi that were all worried. "Mama, why is everyone so tense?" I asked her while having tea with her at my house. We were looking towards the pond, where some birds were having fun. We were able to do this a lot more often thanks to Kushina's seals.

"I can't say." She spoke softly.

"Papa and his men are all on guard. The war is over. Are we going into another one?"

"There is no war, sweetie." She reassured me.

I grumbled and sighed. "Does it involve Kushina?"

"What makes you think that?" If it wasn't for grandma's training, I wouldn't have heard the surprise and the worry in her voice.

"She seems tense too. That could be because she's the hokage's wife."

"I'm sure that's why." Mama tried to reassure me, but it only made me feel worse. "I can read you easily, Ellie. I know you're worried, but there isn't anything you can do." Mama said, knowing I could hear her worry.

"I know and that makes me feel frustrated." Mama rubbed the top of my head. I looked up at her.

"There will be times where you can't do anything about a situation. Besides, I'm sure nothing bad will happen. We all just have to be careful. For now, why don't you go practice the seals Kushina taught you?"

"Okay."

The next day, I went to Kushina's house. I was surprised to see Minato. "Ellie?" "Hello."

"Is everything alright?" Kushina asked me.

"I wanted to visit." Their faces both softened.

"Well, come right in. Do you want something to eat?" Kushina asked.

"I'm good." I sat next to Kushina and hugged her arm. "Ellie?" Minato couldn't tell what I was thinking. In fact, my whole mind was blank.

"I was told by the Nara head that you finally beat him." He said with a smile.

"You beat him?" Kushina asked with surprise.

"I did. I was just as surprised." I should have said it in a happy tone, but I didn't. I couldn't act happy anymore. It was too hard to keep up this façade.

"Okay. There's something wrong with you. Usually, you'd be yelling that you wiped the floor with him." Minato said with concern.

"What's wrong with Kushina?" I asked, getting right to the point.

"Why do you think there's something wrong with me?" She asked.

"I asked mama if we were entering another war, but we aren't. You've been off for a few months. I then asked mama if it had to do with you and she denied." I looked right at Kushina with worry.

"If your mom denied, why do you still think it has to do with me?" She asked.

"Grandma trained me and said I'll be more powerful than mama with my kekkei genkai. I could hear worry and surprise with her answer. There was reassurance when she confirmed there wasn't another war." The two adults looked at each other. Minato looked at me.

"How did you know there was something wrong?" He asked.

"The civilians are the same while the shinobi are all tense. The Kasai are patrolling like crazy and they only did that when there was an impending attack."

"There is something wrong." Minato said.

"Minato! I don't want her knowing." I looked at Kushina with concern and confusion. I know there's nothing I can do. I clenched Kanade's scarf. I was frustrated when I'm not in control of the situation.

"There isn't anything you can do and it's making you frustrated. I know how you're feeling. None of us can do anything but pray right now." Minato said in a quiet voice. "How about we go on a picnic tomorrow?" He suggested.

"A picnic?" Kushina and I questioned.

"Why not? I don't have anything planned for lunch. Plus, I heard that Ellie is an exceptional cook." My cheeks turned pink from the compliment.

"She takes after me. I'll go to the market to get some ingredients. Stay here, Ellie."

"Okay." Once she left, Minato frowned.

"Ellie." He sounded serious.

"What?"

"There's…something inside of Kushina."

"Naruto." He shook his head with a chuckle.

"It isn't Naruto. It's a monster."

"What monster?"

"The nine tails." My eyes widened. "When she gives birth, the seal on her will weaken."

"So…" I was starting to put two and two together. He nodded which confirmed my thoughts.

"See? It doesn't matter what any of us does." I didn't know this would be the cause. A monster stuck inside a kind, gentle woman, inside my second mother. "Ellie, can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"If something happens to us, will you protect Naruto?" The question caught me off guard, but nonetheless, I accepted.

"You didn't even need to ask. I'll protect him with my life." I replied with a smile.

"Thank you, Ellie. Naruto will have a good big sister."

When Kushina got back, the two of us went to work. Minato stayed in the living room, secretly watching us. "You don't even need me anymore. You already know the ropes." Kushina said happily.

"That's because you taught me. I still need you to make the other food or else it'll take all night and I'll end up eating everything."

"That's my girl." She snuggled into me and grunted. "Kushina?"

"It's just a contraction." She said.

"Liar." I said as a matter of fact.

"Damn kekkei genkai." Kushina muttered. Minato walked over.

"Do you need to sit down?" He asked. She used the counter to keep herself up.

"Minato, can you help me lay down?" Kushina looked at me with a strained smile.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. Can you finish the rest? I promise we'll definitely have the picnic tomorrow." She said with a strained face. She was in excruciating pain.

"Okay." Once those two were gone, I looked back at my food. I set my knife down. They left the house. Why did they leave? Did she need to go to the hospital? I nodded. That had to be it. They needed a doctor's opinion.

Singing to myself, I still couldn't help but feel worried. Singing would usually help me calm down. My ankle throbbed. "Tsubasa…" She could sense my distress. I put the sandwiches into containers and put the soup to simmer. Hopefully, Kushina will be home to have some. It might comfort her a little bit more. An hour passed and everything was done. I had a bowl of soup. It was bitter tasting, but it could just be me. I sighed heavily. After eating, I went to wash my bowl. However, it fell out of my hands when a scream was heard. It belonged to no man or woman. It was a beast. My wide, shaky eyes looked forward. "No."

"Ellie!" Minato ran to me.

"Minato?" He handed me a kunai.

"Protect them." He disappeared. I heard a cry from a baby and ran into the room.

"Kushina!" I ran over. She looked at me.

"Ellie…I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen." She said weakly. I looked at Naruto. I turned my back to them.

"You can't fight, Ellie. He's too strong." She pleaded weakly.

"Kushina…if I die and you two stay alive, I'll be satisfied. A lot more people will cry over you than they will over me. I'm a Kasai, a strong weapon that will eventually be replaced. That's my place in the village. I won't let anyone hurt you."

My mind slowed down. My heartbeat slowed. I took deep breaths. Tsubasa was by my side. Kanade was by my side. Even if things don't go well, I will protect them until my last breath. I could feel a slight breeze at my feet. A masked man appeared in the room out of nowhere.

"I didn't expect a child." I held up the kunai. "Don't be serious. I'll kill you with one move." He was too fast for me to react. I was thrown into the wall beside him.

"Ellie!" Kushina shouted with panic.

The man walked over to Kushina and Naruto. "Now to kill you two." I ran at him and fell onto dirt. I looked and saw we were outside. The man had teleported us outside where I could see the nine tails. He turned to me. "You're too persistent for my liking."

"Don't touch her!" Kushina shouted, suspended in the air. Seals were all over her body. "Ellie, take Naruto and run. He wants me." Before I could take Naruto, I was kicked back. I yelped in pain before rolling on the ground.

"You're a child. You're too powerless to do anything." I stood up and glared. I took a deep breath and started to sing. Kushina's eyes widened. The entire area was silent. 'Tsubasa.' I felt her wind give my voice more strength.

"W-what is happening? I can't move." I needed to save Naruto. I took a running start and with the help of Tsubasa, my speed increased. I took Naruto into my arms. I was cut off by the masked man.

"Nice try, but I figured out how to bypass your little song." I was kicked again.

"Naruto! Ellie!" Even with the impact, I kept Naruto safe from harm.

"I won't…let you touch him." I said weakly.

"I'll kill you then."

I gave a determined smile. "As long as they're alive, I'm happy with being killed. I'm a replaceable weapon created to be disposed of. My life isn't as precious as theirs."

"Nice speech, but that doesn't make me pity you." I smirked at the man. "It wasn't supposed to get you to pity me."

"Good job on distracting him, Ellie. Your hard work is showing." Minato was behind the masked man. Unfortunately, the nine tails was right above us. Chains came out of Kushina's back, capturing the fox.

"Kushina." I ran up to her with Naruto still in my arms. "Let me help." She shook her head.

"You can't. Keep your strength if you need to sing. I'll…be just fine." She wasn't fine at all. None of this was fine. None of this had a good outcome. Minato knocked the masked man away and did a few hand signs. A ghost appeared behind him. I knew that from reading a scroll in the library. It killed the user no matter what.

"Ellie, set Naruto down." Minato instructed. There was an altar surrounded by candles. I put Naruto in the altar. "I'm going to need help sealing the nine tails into Naruto. I need you to help." I nodded, preparing myself. As Minato was sealing the fox, it started to fight against the chains. I looked up and felt terrified. My whole body was numb.

"Ellie." I looked at Minato. "Stay calm. You can do it. I know you can. This is what Kushina has been training you for." That's when blood was splattered all over me.

Kushina and Minato were impaled by the fox's claw. My stomach clenched. My heart dropped. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. My body refused to make a sound.

"T-there's no time." Kushina said softly. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. She smiled.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. Can you do one thing for me?" I nodded.

"I need you to do what I tell you to. Now, turn towards Naruto." I nodded and turned towards Naruto.

"Put your hands out in front of you." My arms moved.

"Take a deep breath." Air filled my lungs.

"Now, perform the seal I first taught you." My hands moved on their own. Just as I finished the signs, I screamed. My back was pierced by the claw.

"Ellie!" The two shouted.

I fell on top of Naruto. He kept crying. I tried to sing to calm Naruto down, but it only came out as whispers. My body collapsed. All of my energy had depleted. I looked up at the sky, feeling the blood pour out. My teary eyes slowly closed. So, this was what it felt like to die. I was at peace. I couldn't hear what Kushina and Minato were saying. I couldn't hear the fox. The only thing I could hear was my breathing and fading heartbeat. Then, a scream echoed before it all turned black. Was I finally dead?


	9. Chapter 9

Pain. It was all I felt. It was the only thing I could feel. My body flew up. Panting heavily, I looked around and saw I was in a hospital room. I was alive. My heart was beating as fast as it could. I could hear multiple alarms going off. A nurse ran in.

"Please don't over exert yourself. You'll have a heart attack." She said in a calming voice. Another person walked into the room.

"Give her some space." We looked and saw Shikaku. "I'll calm her down." The nurse walked out. Shikaku sat on the chair.

"You alright? When they got to you, they found you in a pool of blood."

"Where are they?" I asked. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Dead." I said quietly. "They're dead." I repeated.

"Were you attacked?"

"The nine tails' claw pierced my back."

"I see. You're lucky that was all that happened. Did anything else happen? Did the fourth hokage or Kushina tell you something?" Shikaku asked.

"She…they…had me help seal the fox."

His eyes widened. "You know how seals work?" He asked.

"Kushina has been teaching me for over a year. The first seal she taught me was the one I did last night. I…I was so scared."

"I'd be worried if you weren't scared. You've been out for a couple of days. Your room is being guarded by the ANBU just in case."

"Why?"

"You have information about what happened. Plus, whoever was after the nine tails could be after you. We don't want to let you go without a guard." I shook my head.

"That man was after Kushina. He only tried to kill me when I got in the way. Naruto is the one in most danger." I said quietly, clenching the blankets. The door opened and the third hokage walked in.

"I see you're awake. How do you feel?" He asked me.

"I hurt."

He rubbed the top of my head. "I'm glad I found you when I did. You wouldn't have made it if I was any later."

"What about Naruto? Is he safe?"

"He is and it's thanks to you."

"To me?"

He nodded. "You're a little hero, you know? You helped seal the fox."

"Can I see him?"

"Let's see if you can walk first." Shikaku said.

"I'll be fine." I took the blankets off and got onto my feet. Shikaku caught me as I started to fall. My ankle was killing me.

"You can't just get out of bed, expecting to be perfectly fine." He scolded.

"Tsubasa." I called out to her.

A small wind could be felt. My legs were numb. I stood up straight and walked. "What was that?" Shikaku asked.

"Tsubasa Kotone, second generation of the Kotone clan. She lends me her power when I need. She's helping me walk with her wind. Now, where is he?" The hokage walked in front of us as he brought us to where newborns were. From the window, I could see Naruto sleeping.

"When you fully recover, I want to speak with you." The hokage said.

"Why not now?" I asked.

"You have some guests waiting impatiently to see you."

"Huh?" That's when Shikaku walked me back to my room. I noticed the sun rising. I sat on my bed and waited five minutes. Then, the door slammed open.

"Ellie!"

"My baby girl!" Mama was the first one to hug me.

"Mama…"

Father, Kazuma, and Mei were even in the room. Surprisingly, my older siblings were concerned. Father, however, held an analytic gaze in my direction. Hiro and his team were there, panting heavily.

"You're finally up. I was so afraid you'd never wake up." Mama was crying, holding my tightly.

"Mama, I can't breathe."

She let go with a smile. "It must have been scary, huh?" I nodded.

"You really saw the nine tails?" Kazuma questioned. His red, short, messy hair still had signs of bedhead.

"I did."

"Why were you there?" Mei asked. She had a similar hairstyle to Kazuma. I wanted to answer, but they wouldn't understand. They'd only ask more questions. Papa smacked the two on their heads.

"Your sister just woke up. Besides, some of this information is secret." The two instantly shut their mouths. Papa stared at me. "Whatever you did there made you a hero. I'll acknowledge your strength and will begin your training as a Kasai." My eyes widened. This was the most he's ever acknowledged me. Even Hiro was surprised. I nodded, not wanting to make a sound. He left with my two siblings.

"Ellie, do you know what this means?" Hiro asked me.

"I'm confused." I confessed quietly.

"That means you'll be able to train with the rest of us. You'll finally have the freedom to go anywhere in the village."

"Really?"

"Now, Ellie, tell me what happened." Mama said in a certain tone. She was using her kekkei genkai.

"I…helped Kushina and Minato seal the nine tails." Their eyes widened.

"You know about seals?!" The three shinobi questioned.

"They didn't have enough strength to do it themselves." I said.

"Kappa." Kyoya said.

I looked at the three. "What?"

"You know about seals?" He asked again.

"Kushina taught me."

"So, are you a seal master now?" Yama asked.

"I'm far from one. I can only do simple things. I only helped them balance their chakra out. I didn't fully complete the seal."

The doctor walked in. "Good morning. I'm glad to see you awake. How is your back?"

"It hurts, but I can deal with it."

"What's wrong with her back?" Mama asked.

"She was partially impaled by the nine tail's claw protecting the fourth's legacy." The doctor walked over and pulled my gown apart from the back. He undressed the wound. Mama was staring. "There's severe burning from the fox's chakra. Your wound shows no sign of healing."

"Water." Mama firmly spoke.

The doctor looked at mama. "Lady Kasai?"

"Put her in water. It'll heal her."

"What? I wasn't aware of this." The doctor said with shock.

"Water speeds up her healing process. Please, put her in some fresh water."

The water was cool and comforting. I allowed myself to sink to the bottom of the pool. The floor wasn't cold. I looked around and saw a window where doctors were examining me. I stood up and walked to the glass. I touched the surface out of curiosity. I could tell the doctors were staring at me with awe. Was I really that interesting? In the back of the room, I could see Shikaku and his friend Inoichi. Why are they watching? A piece of paper was shown to me. 'Can you breathe?' I nodded. 'Please take your time.' The window went black. Did they stop watching? I stayed staring at the window with a pout. After five minutes, I started to swim around. My back was feeling a lot better. I reached the surface. Mama and a doctor were there.

"Are you finished having fun?" Mama asked. I nodded and sat on the edge of the pool to let the doctor see my back. I heard him gasp.

"T-this is…"

"What is it?" I asked.

"The wound is starting to close!"

After another week at the hospital, I was ready to go home. I was monitored in the pool and was able to do physical therapy in there as well. In that week, I learned of the damage and the many lives taken that night. Shikaku's father died. Even Inoichi's father died. I was right at the feet of the fox and yet I survived. When I was fully rested, father started to train me. I was put with the rest of the men. They all stared at me, but couldn't say a word. We all warmed up and then spared against each other using any means necessary. We were put into matches where the rest of the men would sit around and watch. The men that fought were strong. None of them held back. "Next." Father said. He secretly gave every one of us a number. I was the seventh match. Standing up, I saw a man stand up. He was about Shikaku's age. The two of us bowed. Our height difference was obvious. Our experience was exponentially different.

We bowed to each other. "No holding back. You can use any means necessary, even your flames." Father repeated the rules to me. I decided I wouldn't use my kekkei genkai to easily defeat him. I got in position which intrigued the men.

"Since you just started training, I'll go easy on you." The man said. Father didn't say a word. The man ran at me. He wasn't going all out. He was slow enough to where I could easily dodge. Itachi was faster than him.

"Why do you hold back?" I asked.

"I don't want to hurt you on your first day of training."

"It doesn't matter if I hardly have any Kasai blood. I'm still one and if I can't fight you at your strongest, I don't deserve to be called a Kasai." The room went cold. My voice was low and dangerous.

"Sir?" He looked to my father.

"Go ahead." This made all of the men get out of the way and sit near the entrance.

"You two will have the entire dojo. You should have fought him when he was holding back, Ellie. He might put you into the hospital."

I surprised everyone by smiling. "If there's a foe stronger than me, I just need to output more power." I said.

"Try and beat me, little girl." I could feel the man's power. When he ran at me this time, he was much faster. I gave a little gasp of excitement. I jumped out of the way of his attack.

"At least you can dodge. But can you dodge in close combat?!" His fists came towards me, over and over. My eyes were reading everything. I'd use my hand to push his fists aside. Once he was open, I kicked him back. The men all gasped at my attack. The man then fell and disappeared. My eyes widened. It was a clone. I felt myself fly across the room. My back crashed into the wall. I gasped for air. He took the air out of my lungs.

"I'll hold back if you want." My opponent said.

I stood up and started to lightly laugh. "Finally. I've been itching for some fun." I got into position and caught father off guard. I was going to use grandpa's fighting style. He was known for his brutality and speed.

"What kind of position is that? Have you not been paying attention?" My opponent asked.

"I should ask the same thing. If you studied on our history, you'd know exactly what my fighting style has changed to." He clicked his tongue. It was my turn. I lifted my foot and concentrated on my chakra. This was the only thing grandpa taught me the time I was there. Once I stepped down, I was propelled to my opponent. I kicked him hard in the side. I quickly retracted and jumped back. He regained himself, but it was too late. I was already at his side ready to kick him. However, he caught my ankle.

"Nice try." He threw me hard into the wall near the ceiling. I let out a yell from pain. As I was falling, I hid my smile. My feet grazed the wall. I pounced right off and landed right beside him. Before he could attack, I jumped away.

"Come and attack me! I'm getting bored." He said with excitement.

"I'm having fun."

Everyone could tell I was injured while my opponent was hardly touched. What could I do? I could only produce a flame when I was either concentrated or pushed past my limits. The door opened and mama walked in. The battle stopped.

"Oh my." I heard mama.

"Lady Kasai." My opponent bowed.

"You're holding back, Ellie." She said with a smile.

"Why?" Father asked.

"I…"

"You don't need to prove anything. Use what you learned from your grandma."

"Mama…"

"You're stronger than this. You father said to not hold back." Father looked at me and nodded. I walked to the weapon wall and took a sword.

"Your grandparent's taught you how to use swords?!" Mama asked with shock.

"Maybe."

"Ellie!"

I unsheathed the sword and looked at my opponent. "Let's have some fun." Everyone could hear music start to play. They were all surprised. Once I started singing, I instantly felt stronger, lighter. I was dancing around him, attacking with ease. It was as if everything was clear.

"It looks like you were holding back." His smile grew wider. The two of us kept clashing. He'd use his flame, but I'd dodge flawlessly. My attacks were getting stronger. I started to pant. My body still wasn't in the right condition to fight. I threw the sword right in his direction. Like I planned, he dodged and kept his eyes on the sword for a split second longer. "Tsubasa." Her wind propelled me behind him. I caught the sword, tripped him, and put the sword beside his neck.

"I win."

"Think again." It was another clone. His real self was behind me. His hand rested on my back. He pushed me into the wall with great strength. I went through the wall. It was silent. I struggled to get up.

"The winner has been decided." Father announced.

"I can still fight." I said.

He shook his head at me. "Know when you have lost. If this was a real battle, you would have died instantly. You have a long way to go before I'll let you become a shinobi."

Everyone left the dojo. I stared at the ground feeling lost. Why couldn't I fight more? I still had more than enough strength to continue. I could have gone longer. Why? Why did he end the fight?!

"Ellie." I gasped and looked up. Hiro was in front of me. "You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Don't be like that. I saw what happened."

"I was weak."

He flicked my forehead. "You were anything but weak. You should have seen me when I went up against him when I was younger. My fight ended within seconds."

"Liar."

He shook his head and sighed. "If you want criticism, get better at your taijutsu and stamina. You're highly intelligent, but intelligence can only get you so far." He walked out. I followed in suit and left. I didn't just leave the dojo. I left the compound and went to Shikaku.

"Ellie?" He questioned. "What happened to you?"

"Father decided to train me with the rest of the Kasai. I have a question."

"What is it?"

"How do you get stronger?"

"Huh?" The two of us started to walk around with the deer. I told him about what happened. "You just need to do more exercise." My face contorted. "You don't like exercising?"

"It's troublesome." He laughed.

"I really need to stop saying that. I'm influencing you." He commented.

"Just tell me what I can do."

"You can start off by getting your stamina up by running."

"I dance."

"Running will be better. Try running around the entire village."

"You're insane." I said.

"I know a guy who runs many laps around the village like it's nothing."

I let out a sound of awe. "Who's this guy?"

"I'll let you figure that out. If you run tomorrow morning, you have a great chance of meeting him." I nodded and started to pet the deer. "Take as long as you need. We're not at war anymore. You don't need to magically get stronger overnight. You're still a child whether you want to admit it or not. You need to play with friends."

I looked up at Shikaku with a hum. "Friends? Aren't you my friend?" I asked with a slight pout.

"I mean, you should play with kids your age."

"Why? They're annoying and complain about everything."

Shikaku sighed. "You really are a Nara."

The next morning, I woke up early and started to run despite all the red flags. It wasn't as bad, but I still hated it. A green flash blinded my vision. "W-what was that?!" My tired eyes must have been seeing things that weren't there. Ten minutes later, the same green was seen. "That's it. I'm going crazy." I wasn't even half-way around the village. Ten minutes passed and the green flashed passed me. By now, I was affected by a high. It felt so good. I couldn't even notice the green anymore. All I could see was how beautiful the village was. When I was done, I collapsed to the ground. "Why did I do that to myself?! I can't even walk!" I heard a hearty laugh and looked up. Well, it seems like I wasn't crazy. A man dressed in a green leotard was standing before me.

"You did well! I haven't seen you run here before. Are you training?" I nodded, not knowing if I should speak. I was so confused.

"My name is Gai. Who might you be?" He asked.

"Ellie."

"Well, Ellie, it's great to meet you. Do you want to train with me?"

"Will you make me stronger?"

"Of course!"

"Deal." Trying to stand, I fell to my face. I heard Gai laugh.

"You worked extremely hard."

"I hate running." He picked me up and put me on his shoulder.

"Let's go!" He ran to the training grounds. I was basically a doll. He set me down. "Since your lower body is recovering, let's work on the arms."

"Yay." I said as enthusiastically as I could, which wasn't very enthusiastic. "What do we do?"

"Pushups." I tilted my head and watched Gai as he got on his hands and did pushups with his legs in the air.

"I'd rather die."

"C'mon, Ellie! Let's get stronger together." Groaning, I copied him and tried to do a single pushup. I bent my elbows and came crashing down. "Don't lose hope. Try again." I got back on my hands and survived the first pushup. This went on for another two hours.

After training, I went to find Shikaku. I wasn't in the best of moods. Not only was I sore, but I was hungry and had a raging headache. I went to the compound where he'd probably be.

"Are you here for Shikaku?" I looked up at Yoshino.

"I am."

"He's at work. Do you want to wait here?"

"No. I'll go find him." She smiled.

"Give him hell, El."

"Oh, I will." I trudged through the village until I got to the intelligence department. Inside, I went to the receptionist.

"Do you know where Shikaku Nara is?" I asked sweetly.

"He's in his office right now."

"Thank you." I walked down the hall and knocked on the door. "Come in." I opened the door and made him go pale.

"Ellie?"

"Why didn't you mention he was a weirdo? I should drown you."

"Now, Ellie, I had to make you curious so you'd actually go." My fist clenched up. The hot tea in his cup was in the air. "Ellie?"

"Burn!"


	10. Chapter 10

A single year has passed. It's been relatively calm despite the damage still prevalent in the village. Gai has learned to be his regular self without being too loud. It was a win in my book. I've gotten noticeably stronger over this year. Today was my final test to see just how strong I've gotten. This was a big deal. If I passed and defeated my opponent from last year, I'd be able to become a genin. It was more of a way to show father just how strong I am despite my lack of Kasai blood. I had to prepare myself. This was a graduation of sorts for the younger Kasai. The village and Kasai had an agreement that if a Kasai is up to clan standards, they are immediately put onto a special genin team. I didn't know why it was special, but I'll find out soon enough. I dressed in the colors blue, purple, and white. Mama had picked my outfit for me. She said it'd be similar to the outfit I'd wear when I'm older. A blue and white battle kimono hug off my shoulders and ended a few inches below my hips. I wore a sleeveless turtle neck crop top underneath. On one leg, I wore a footless purple tight that ended at my mid-thigh. The other leg only had a gold garter accessory on my thigh and a purple ribbon wrapped around my ankle. Mama put my hair up into a side ponytail with Kanade's hairpin on the other side of my head.

When I showed Itachi my new outfit, he almost passed out. "What's the matter? Is it the boobs? I know they've grown, but that doesn't mean you can pass out on me."

"S-sorry." He apologized with a red face.

"I'm guessing it looks good then."

"It looks really nice on you."

"Thanks. Now that you approved, I need to finish preparations." He regained himself and handed me a skinny rectangle box. "What's this?"

"It's for you. I thought it'd be nice to get you something to help you during your fight." I opened it and saw a beautiful tanto. The handle was blue with a design that looked like waves. It was really beautiful. "Since water is your element, I thought I'd get you something special. The blade can turn into water if you want and then if the blade breaks, it can reform with water. It's something like that."

I hugged Itachi tightly. "Thank you, Itachi."

"You're welcome. Mom even decided to pitch in. It's why it looks pretty. She said it'd match your beauty."

I let go and giggled. "Your mom is right. Always listen to her."

"I will. Good luck."

At the compound, I was getting more nervous the closer it got to my fight. I didn't know what to expect other than fighting my opponent. Hiro walked over to me with Yama and Kyoya. "Are you ready?" Hiro asked me.

"I'm nervous."

"Don't be. Use this to test yourself."

"I'm sure my opponent has gotten stronger." I commented.

"You've gotten strong yourself. Your taijutsu has nearly tripled over a single year." Yama said gently.

"If all else fails, just do what you usually do." Kyoya said.

I shook my head at Kyoya. "I'd probably get executed if I showed them my water abilities."

"If that happens, we'll rescue you. Who else will keep these two idiots in line?" Laughter bubbled out of me from Yama's statement.

"You're right."

Mama walked towards us. "It's time, Ellie. Everyone is expecting you."

I turned to the three. "We'll wait here." Hiro said.

"Kick his ass, Kappa!" Kyoya and Yama both said.

"Don't show any mercy. And most importantly, don't forget our training." Hiro reminded me.

I smiled brightly. "I'll be back." I walked alongside mama.

"Don't be nervous." She said.

"I'll try not to be."

"You've been trained by amazingly strong people. Use everything you've learned and show them how much of a warrior you are."

At the dojo, everyone stared at me. Father seemed pleased with my appearance. The scariest part of the entire thing was the fact my grandfather was here. He sneered at me with disgust.

"I see the scum is participating." Grandfather said, obviously not happy to see me.

I ignored him and made it to the circle. My opponent stood up and stood a few feet away. He hasn't changed one bit. "You've grown since last year. Have you gotten as strong as your flame?" He asked.

I repressed my irritation. It wasn't true. I couldn't produce a strong flame like everyone here. I couldn't improve my flame like everyone. It stayed the same. Looking over, I saw grandfather whisper something to father. Why did he seem against the idea? "This fight…" Something was forcing father to speak. "This fight will be…to the death."

Everyone's eyes widened. Even my opponent was shocked. He looked at me with worry. I looked at my opponent with shock and confusion. "There's no way. I can't kill her. She's a kid!"

"Your clan leader has spoken. Speaking against him will be seen as treason." Grandfather spoke with a smirk.

Mama stared at me with worry. Father was fighting against grandfather, but he wasn't strong enough. My opponent calmed down. "My name is Fuyuki." Ah, the old tradition of giving prey your name before killing them. This was all wrong. None of the fights should be to the death. I was the only exception so I'd die.

"I don't want you to show her mercy because she's a kid." Grandfather spoke.

I straightened my back and looked at him. "You're not the clan leader anymore. Why should anyone listen to you?" Everyone in the room gasped.

"You insolent little brat!"

"My father is the clan leader. His true word is what everyone listen to." He caught the implication and was fighting himself from having me killed on the spot. Father's eyes were full of shock.

"I should have you killed!" Grandfather yelled.

"Depending on this match, you might get your wish." I turned to Fuyuki. "I'm sorry, but I want to keep that old geezer pissed off. So, will you let me kill you?" I asked with a smile, but my eyes were narrowed.

Mama gave me a look full of pride. If I died, I'm sure Kushina, Minato, Kanade, and my grandparents will force me back every time.

"Begin." Father said.

The two of us were frozen. None of us wanted to fight. "Ellie…" Fuyuki said.

"Yes?"

"I'm so sorry. I'll make your death as quick and painless as possible."

He then appeared behind me. Unfortunately for him, I had done the same thing. He punched right through and gasped.

"An afterimage?" He said with shock. His body flew into the wall with great speed. Everyone stared at me with shock. Gai's training had done wonders to me. Fuyuki stood up and looked at me with shock. "How did you get this strong after a single year?!"

"That's my secret."

"It looks like you might match me with taijutsu, you little shit."

"Thank you."

Flames lit up on his hands. "I'll just have to kill you with ninjutsu."

"Oh! That's smart considering I hardly know any ninjutsu." He smirked and ran at me.

"That doesn't mean I can't outrun you though!" I shouted at him.

The only way to actually counteract his flames is to use my water. What should I do? Get killed now? Get killed after the battle? Well, either way, I'm screwed. So, I started to sing. I couldn't show my grandfather I was too strong, but I also couldn't be weak or else I'd die. Boy, this is a big problem. I kept running around, dancing my way from getting hit.

"Just let me kill you already! It'll be more painful for you if you move around like that."

"I can't die today. I won't let everyone's deaths be in vain." I said.

He stopped. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"My grandparents both died protecting me. My best friend died protecting our home. My godparents died protecting this village. It wouldn't be fair to just die after all of that. It wouldn't be right."

"I didn't know you went through all of that."

"I've trained my ass off so I'll get stronger. I won't let it end because some old geezer doesn't like the color blue." This made mama chuckle silently. "I'll do anything to stay alive. Even if that means I have to kill, I'll do it."

"You don't have the heart to kill much less the heart to kill your own clansman." Fuyuki accused.

I took a step and concentrated. "You're wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I have killed. I have bled. I have cried. I have been knocked down over and over. Because of all of that, it has molded me into a weapon." I looked and saw a huge ball of fire coming at me. My eyes widened. He used my little speech as an opening to attack. I couldn't move out of the way. Even Tsubasa couldn't save me. The only thing I could do to stay alive was to use my water. The fire collided with me and caused steam to fill the room.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. You were a wonderful warrior." He turned his back. When the steam faded away, the room was full of gasps.

"I'm still a wonderful warrior." Fuyuki turned around with shock. It wasn't just him, but everyone in the room saw a shield of water in front of me. The surrounding area was charred from his fire. He made it so it would kill me painlessly.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Grandfather yelled.

"The reason why I can't produce a strong flame isn't because I'm weak." I took out my new tanto. "I'm not weak. I'm just stronger with water."

I got into position. I had to push my fear back. I couldn't let myself be freaked out. I'd get killed in an instant.

"A Kasai that uses water as if it was fire isn't something you see every day. No wonder your hair is blue." Fuyuki said.

I took a deep breath before running towards Fuyuki. I jumped and kicked him with full force. "Any stronger and you're going to end up breaking my bones!" He said.

"Then…" I tried to kick his skull, but he caught my ankle and sent me flying. I let out a yell from pain. I felt like I was having a major case of déjà vu. My feet skimmed the wall. I jumped off and flew right towards Fuyuki. He put his hands up to dodge.

That's when chakra chains came from the floor and captured his arms and legs, making sure he wouldn't be able to move. I took the tanto out.

"Goodbye, Fuyuki." The match ended. A bunch of red hair fell to the ground. Fuyuki was still breathing. "As clan rules state, to kill a person is to cut their hair off. Today, you have died as Fuyuki and will be reborn as Kazuki." I turned to father. "That fulfills the requirements. I have fought till the death."

"I want blood to be spilt." Grandfather told me.

I took the tanto and made a shallow cut on his chest. "There."

Father nodded. I walked over and picked out my hitai-ate. I choose the black colored hitai-ate and bowed to my father. Walking out, I collapsed into mama's arms. "You did well. Go show your brother." I stood up and ran to my backyard. There, the three were waiting with Keisuke.

"Well?" They all questioned.

I showed them the hitai-ate. "I did it!"

The four cheered. Hiro picked me up and spun me around. "I knew you could do it!"

"You finally did something good, Kappa!" Kyoya said.

"Now, we can go on missions together." Yama commented, rubbing the top of my head.

I was put down and felt someone watching. I turned and saw Kazuki. "Fuyuki?" Hiro questioned.

He walked over to me and got on his knees to bow. "Thank you, lady Kasai."

"Why are you thanking me?" I tilted my head.

"You saved my life."

"What is he talking about?" Hiro asked me.

"Father…made us fight to the death."

"What?!" They all shouted.

"Why? That isn't the tradition at all." Hiro said.

"The old geezer was there." I responded with annoyance. I hated that old man and would have a feast when he dies.

"I see."

"I killed Fuyuki and gave birth to Kazuki." I explained.

"Huh?" Hiro asked, confused like always. Kazuki stood up.

"No wonder grandma hated you." I looked at Hiro with a sly smirk. "The Kasai has a tradition where a clansman can be killed by cutting their hair. So, I killed Fuyuki."

"Isn't that an extremely old tradition?" Hiro asked me.

"It is, but there isn't anything else in the clan history denouncing it."

"Wait. You read through the entire library?" Kazuki questioned me.

"I did. It only took four months, but it was worth it. There's a lot of information in there."

"Did something else happen?" Yama asked me.

"I used my water."

"Did father say anything?" Hiro asked.

"He didn't then, but I'm not sure what will happen now. Punishment will come at a later time."

"I'll protect you." Kazuki said with his hand over his heart. "It's the least I can do after what you did for me."

"There's no need. I have my own tricks of escaping. Now, let's go celebrate. Hiro, you pay."

"I like the way you think, Kappa." Kyoya said, putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Kazuki, go to the infirmary to get that wound healed up." I ordered. He was still bleeding.

"Yes, lady Kasai."

When he left, the five of us went to have barbeque. There, we ordered whatever we wanted. It was a huge celebration after all and Hiro was the one paying for it all. I saw Shikaku enter with Inoichi and Choza. I got out of my seat and walked to them.

"Ellie? What a coincidence. You look rather energetic today." Shikaku said.

I showed him my hitai-ate. "I passed father's test."

"You did? What does that make you?" Inoichi asked. He obviously knew what that made me but still asked. Only Shikaku treated me like I wasn't my age.

"I'm a genin now."

"Good job. So, what was the test?" Shikaku asked.

I frowned, catching them off guard. "Usually, I have to defeat a stronger member of my clan. However, I had to kill one."

Their eyes widened. "Ellie…"

"So, I killed him the old fashioned way."

"How?"

"I cut off his hair." They obviously looked confused. Not many know of Kasai traditions. "It's an old tradition that hasn't been scratched out. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who has read the entire Kasai library because they'd know about it."

Shikaku started laughing and rubbed the top of my head. "I'm proud of you, kid. Just wait until Yoshino hears this."

"Use it when she starts nagging. It'll steer her mind away from you being lazy."

"Thanks, Ellie." I ran back to my table.

"You know them?" Yama asked me.

"I used to play shogi against Shikaku's father. The fourth used this as training me intellectually."

Yama looked at Hiro. "Look, Hiro. She's already smarter than most of the village. Isn't she great?"

"Why are you saying that as if she's your sister?" Hiro muttered.

We got our food and dug in. Hiro was bummed out he'd be paying for it, but it was for me after all. The food was amazingly good. The meat melted in my mouth. Even the vegetables had a sweet, earthy taste. I was in heaven.

"Ellie is going to be in a food coma." Keisuke said with a chuckle.

"She'll be fine. This is Ellie we're talking about. Her love is food and right behind or pretty close to it is drowning people." Kyoya said with distaste.

"You sound like you're talking from experience." Yama taunted.

We were all chatting happily. Well, I was eating more than chatting. Then, everything changed. Mama walked in, surprising us. "Mama?"

She gave me a sad smile. "Ellie…" Something happened. She sat next to me. "Your father is not happy with you for using water."

"I suspected as much."

"Though, he cannot help but respect your way of ending your match. It was something he doesn't teach because he wants everyone to read our history. So, your punishment will be less severe."

"What's my punishment?"

"Until your grandfather is gone, you are not allowed to come home."

"I'm never really allowed home."

"Your real punishment is to be put on a team by yourself. You will not have any teammates or a jonin. You will have to learn from experience alone. Your first mission starts when your grandfather leaves." Mama said sadly.

The five of us tensed up. My punishment is to be alone. I'm sure the mission will be dangerous to make me learn a lesson. The hokage wouldn't have a single word in this. He'd have to agree to it no matter what unless he wants to anger the Kasai and that is not a good idea. The clan can easily overtake Konoha. Hiro and his team looked at me with worry.

"I'll be fine. Let him give me his worst. I'll complete it without fail."

Mama smiled and hugged me lovingly. "I'm so proud of you. My baby girl is so mature, so beautiful, and so strong. I don't want you to marry."

"Mama, I'm only ten. You have a while." I said with a groan.

She laughed and rubbed her face against mine. "I still can't help but imagine all of my children getting married."

Thankfully, Keisuke let me stay with him until the end of the month. It was a pretty good deal. I got to stay under his roof and read his scrolls while he got my cooking which has improved. We'd even spar against each other. Since Hiro and his teammates were allowed to go on missions without Keisuke, it gave him a lot of free time. So, he taught me a few things. On other days, we'd go to the library and read. I had the goal of reading the entire library.

"Say, Keisuke, have you tortured someone before?" I suddenly asked him one day. We were in the library again today.

"Why are you asking?"

"I'm curious. I don't know what kind of mission I'll be given."

He closed his book. We were in the library. "Well, why don't we ask a professional?" Keisuke looked at a man whose head was covered with the hitai-ate.

"Don't bring me into this, Keisuke."

"C'mon, Ibiki, can't you give her a little bit of a talk? She's interested."

"Why would I waste my time?"

I pouted and leaned on the table. "Put the book down and look at me." I commanded.

Like magic, Ibiki did as I said. "What the hell?"

"Don't mess with this kid, Ibiki. She's a Kotone." Keisuke warned with a chuckle.

"A Kotone? For real?" I nodded. "You've got my full attention, kid. What do you want to know?" Ibiki asked.

"Should you draw blood or slowly drown a person until they're almost unconscious to get information?"

The two men blinked. "Ellie, are you going to use this on your brother and Kyoya?" Keisuke asked.

"Why would I ever do that?"

"I can hear how sincere you are." Keisuke said sarcastically.

Ibiki laughed at me. "It all depends on the person." Ibiki started giving me a big lecture on the different types of torture. There's physical and mental torture. My eyes were shining with excitement.

"You're going to turn her into a monster." Keisuke commented.

"Nonsense! There's a big section on everything I told you in detail. If you're interested in that, go on and read it. Be warned, there's a lot of material." Ibiki said.

I stood up excitedly. "I have three weeks to read it all and then I get to experiment."


	11. Chapter 11

Ibiki watched the blue haired Kotone run off. He looked at Keisuke for more information about her. It's rare to even hear of the Kotone clan anymore ever since sanctions were placed on them. Multiple countries knew the dangers of the Kotone and forced them to follow strict rules or else they'd all be exterminated.

"Spill." Ibiki said.

"Her mother is the wife of Fudo Kasai. Ellie just happens to inherit her mother's kekkei genkai." Keisuke explained.

"She doesn't look like a Kasai."

"I know, but I don't ask questions. Myself, I don't care about that. She can still produce a flame."

"How?"

"Her grandfather is a Kasai. Apparently, their blood runs deep. It doesn't matter if your ancestor was a Kasai, you'll have the kekkei genkai if trained properly. That's what I was told." Keisuke explained, leaning against the bookshelf. Ibiki hummed with thought.

"That's interesting. So, why did she want to know about torture?"

"She's being punished and there's nothing we can do about it. She has to go on a mission alone with no team or jonin. So, she's learning on anything and everything she can get a hold of."

"The hokage can't do anything?"

"Nope. It's part of Kasai affairs."

"How are her skills?" Keisuke couldn't help but smile.

"She's as smart as Shikaku without the experience and has been training under Gai for strength and stamina. Her water manipulation skill is amazing. The way she looks for openings and trackers her opponent is like watching an Uchiha fight. I heard Kushina trained her with beginner seals. Plus, she has access to both of her kekkei genkai to an extent." He explained with a proud smile on his face. Ibiki whistled.

"That's a lengthy resume. She's basically as strong as a jonin."

"Exactly."

A week passed and I was half-way through the torture section of the library. It wasn't as big as I thought it'd be. There was only a very small section on a single shelf. Kazuki would be by my side most of the time, reading to pass the time.

"Fuyuki?" We looked and saw a guy walk over. He held a senbon in his mouth.

"That isn't my name anymore, Genma." Kazuki said quietly.

"Huh?"

"My name is Kazuki now."

"Why the sudden name change?" Genma asked with confusion. Kazuki looked down at me with a smile.

"She saved my life and renamed me."

"I'm still confused. Can't you give me any juicy details?"

"It's clan affairs." I said with a harsh tone. I didn't need anyone outside of the clan knowing about what happened.

"Who are you?" Genma asked with interest.

"This is Ellie Kasai. Please treat her with respect." Genma hummed and looked at me.

"How old are you, cutie?"

"Ten." I saw his face contort. "Do you feel like a pedophile now?" I mocked him.

"In a couple of years, you better be ready to be taken on a date."

"I'm going to reject you now so I don't have to deal with you in the future."

"Ah, I could feel the coldness seep out of your words. They hurt me so, princess."

"I will not hesitate to end your life." I stood up and stretched. "Hey, Kazuki, what should I do about seduction?" I ignored Genma. He wasn't worth my time or attention.

"You're still too young to think about that. Is it for the mission?" Kazuki asked.

"You're going on a mission? You should just leave it to your sensei." I glared at Genma.

"She's going alone."

"Clan affairs?" We nodded. "It's such a shame. Maybe someone might be put on the same mission." I sighed heavily and threw a book at Genma. He fell to the ground. I stomped on his chest over and over. "Oh, you're going to be such a great woman when you're older."

"You'll be just as great of a corpse when I'm done drowning you." He let out a strange noise. Kazuki stopped me and took Genma.

"I'll handle him. You should take a break from reading."

"I might."

Once the two left, Inoichi walked over. "I see you're hard at work."

"I need to be as prepared as possible." I replied before putting the book I threw at Genma away.

"Why don't you come over for some lunch?" He suggested.

"You had me at lunch." He laughed and led the way to his house.

"Do you know your mission yet?"

"I'll know when I set off."

"That must be rough." He said.

"I'll be fine. If I can't do this, I won't be able to piss off the old geezer anymore and that makes me sad."

"Why do you hate him so much?" He questioned.

"He has personal problems against the color blue."

At Inoichi's house, I was given a lunch that filled me up. His wife was an amazing cook. I then heard a baby's cry. I perked my head up. Inoichi's wife walked out with their daughter. "Ellie, I want you to meet Ino." Inoichi said.

"Can I hold her?" I asked.

"Of course." I took Ino in my arms and smiled widely. She was so small despite being a few months old. "Your name suits you, Ino." She slowly stopped crying at the sound of my voice. Her bright blue eyes stared up at me with curiosity.

"Inoichi, she got Ino to calm down."

"I'm not surprised. Her voice is magical." He replied. Ino reached up for me and touched my face. Her blue eyes stared into mine. She was full of curiosity.

"A bright future is ahead of you. I can see it. If you stray from the path, I'll protect you just like Kanade protects me. I'll make sure you get back on your path." I let out a small gasp and my cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. I must have been rambling." Tsubasa really rubbed off of me with her words. It's why I really respected her. She'd do anything for those she loves.

"That's alright, dear. Your words mean a lot to us." Inoichi's wife said. I smiled sadly. "Ellie?"

"I believe that there are people who deal with more tragedy so children like Ino can grow up with an abundance of happiness. People like me who get beaten over and over again can deal and cope with what this harsh world throws. Children like Ino are given happiness because if they were the one in my shoes, they wouldn't survive."

"You're still a child, Ellie." I shook my head.

"I may be a child, but I know true hatred. I know what it means to take a life. I know what it feels like to take a life. I already have blood on my hands. I've killed both friend and foe. I've had to face my best friend's death. I've had to face my whole clan turn on me." Inoichi knew I was right. His wife came to my side and hugged me. Ino was soon asleep and cuddling up against me.

"If you can do wonders like this, I'm sure Shikaku would love you over." She commented.

"He has a kid?" That was news to me. I'm sure he would have said something by now. Sure, I haven't gone over in a while, but it hasn't been that long. Has it?

"He didn't tell you?" Inoichi asked with surprise. I gave Ino to her mother.

"I'm taking off."

"Give him hell, Ellie." I ran out and got to the Nara compound. Yoshino was the first one to see me.

"Ellie?"

"You have a son?!"

"We do. Did my idiot husband not tell you?"

"I wouldn't be here asking." Both of us stomped to Shikaku's office. Yoshino almost broke the door open and glared at her husband.

"You didn't tell Ellie about Shikamaru?!"

"This is troublesome." He muttered from his desk.

While Yoshino was yelling at her husband, I went to find their son. I found him and another child crawling. The two looked at me with curiosity. "You two are just as adorable." I walked over and sat down. "Hello." The two didn't crawl to me. "You two can trust me. I'm your big sister Ellie." Yoshino walked out and smiled.

"Shikamaru, Choji, it's rude to not say hello." I could tell Shikamaru made a face.

"He's going to be like Shikaku." I pointed out.

"Unfortunately." She sighed heavily. The two soon crawled into my arms. I was so happy. "If you're this happy, why don't you come with me to meet the other clan babies? You'll get to see all of them." My eyes lit up.

"Will Naruto be there?" She made a face. She was uncomfortable. "Is it the nine tails?" She nodded.

"What if the seal breaks?" She asked, unsure of Naruto.

"Leave it to me. Kushina taught me how to strengthen the seal."

"She did?"

"Well, I was her goddaughter. It's only natural she taught me things she knew."

Another week passed. I met up with Yoshino to see all of the clan babies. "Let's go." I was led to the Hyuga compound.

"Ellie?" I looked and saw Itachi's mother. She ran over and hugged me. "I haven't seen you in such a long time. You've gotten even more beautiful. Why hasn't Itachi told me anything?"

"He's a growing boy with girl problems." She laughed.

"That he is." I was brought to the backyard. "Sasuke." A child perked his head up and turned to us. He looked like Itachi, but more like their mother. We walked to him. "This is your big sister Ellie. Listen to her for me, okay?" Sasuke's mother left leaving him to gaze with awe. I opened my arms and he landed in them. It was like love at first sight. The other children had crawled over, wanting my attention. I landed on my back and let the children crawl over me. I loved every moment. I felt the nine tails and saw Naruto cuddling into my left side. Sasuke took my right side while the rest of the kids found their own place.

"Are you alright?" One of the mothers asked.

"I'm in heaven."

Soon, all of the mothers left. Did they just pawn off their kids on me so they could gossip? I sat up and gently placed any of the sleeping kids on the blanket that was put down. I saw a small dark blue haired child sitting in a corner. I walked over and picked her up. She let out a gasp. "You must be Hinata." She looked so scared of me. "It's alright, Hinata. I won't hurt you. I'll never hurt you or anyone else here. Us blue haired women have to stick together." She smiled and hugged me. "When you're older, I'll train you to be strong and confident in yourself. You'll need a lot of confidence to protect the ones you love, okay?" She babbled in response, not knowing what I was saying or what any of it meant. I let her tug on my hair. "Isn't my hair like the ocean?" She kept smiling. "If you grow your hair out, it'll look like space and that's even more beautiful than the ocean."

"I see you're having fun." I looked up and saw Hiashi, the clan head of the Hyuga.

"I am." I replied happily. He sat down and watched with a smile.s

"My daughter has taken a liking to you."

"Is it that strange?"

"It's just surprising. She's a very shy child."

"I can tell, but once she gets out of her shell, she's a very happy baby." He quietly laughed to not wake any of the children up.

"You're right. By the way, were you serious about training her?" He asked.

"I'm very serious with my words."

"I'm glad. She'll need someone like you to teach her some self-confidence. It's something I'm not good with myself."

"You can leave it to me. I'll have Hinata ready by the time she makes genin." Hiashi smiled gently.

"Thank you. I'll leave my daughter in your hands."

By the end of next week, I was nervous. I'd be setting off on my mission. I stood before my parents and the hokage in his office. "Today will be your first mission. Have you been preparing?" The hokage asked me.

"Yes, sir."

"Very good." He handed me a scroll. "Your mission is to collect information. This isn't a simple mission despite the description. It is very dangerous and will probably take at least a year." A year?! So, father wanted to get rid of me for a whole year. "Do you accept even with the length?"

"Yes, sir. What kind of Kasai would I be if I couldn't complete a single mission?" He smiled and handed me the scroll.

"You will be heading out to Kumogakure. The Raikage will be awaiting you. He'll tell you more details in person." I nodded and took the scroll. This was just great. I'll be traveling for a long time to observe for a long time. I'll miss home cooked meals. My parents left the office.

"Ellie." The hokage spoke seriously.

"Yes?"

"There will be someone with you on this mission."

"Isn't this supposed to be a solo mission?"

"It isn't official, but he's there collecting the same information."

"Who is it?"

"His name is Jiraiya."

At home, I packed everything I needed and put it all in scrolls. I even brought Kanade's scarf for the colder months. I met with Itachi one last time. "You're leaving for your mission?" He asked me. I nodded. "How long will it take?"

"Apparently, it'll take at least a year."

"What?" His eyes widened.

"I might be gone even longer. This might be the last we ever see each other." He attacked me with a tight hug.

"It won't be the last." He mumbled into my shoulder. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him.

"You'll be fine. Just keep your head up. Can you do that for me?" I asked. He nodded and squeezed harder. "If you squeeze any harder, you'll break my back." He let go.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." I kissed his forehead behind leaving. He reacted the way I wanted to, by freaking out and holding his forehead.

At the gate, everyone was waiting. "My baby girl is going out in this scary world." Mama said with a

"I'll be fine, mama." Hiro hugged me tightly, tearing up like mama. I swear he's more of a woman than a man. Yama pried me out of my brother's arms before giving me a hug.

"Be safe, alright?" Yama said.

"I will."

I looked at Kyoya. "I hope you drown." He said to me.

"Don't worry. I'll have the satisfaction of knowing you'll die from drowning since I'm not here to save you."

"I-I'll learn how to swim one day, Kappa!" Keisuke handed be a box so Kyoya could cool off.

"What's this?" I asked.

"This is full of supplies you might need. They're things I use and most common amongst shinobi. I believe I already taught you how to use these."

"Thank you, sensei."

"Just come back alive. It's all we want."

"Don't worry. So, which way is Kumogakure?" I asked with a small head tilt. The entire group wasn't surprised and laughed.

"You have to pass through the land of hot water and the land of frost to reach your destination." Shikaku said as he and Inoichi walked over.

"Oh!"

"Oh no. Knowing Ellie, she'll stay in the land of hot water." Hiro said with a sigh.

"Shut up, bastard!" I yelled. Shikaku handed me a scroll.

"This is some information for you."

"What is it about?" He put a hand on the top of my head, ignoring my question. "Listen, this is more dangerous than anyone knows. There's a rumor of a rogue shinobi killing people around Kumogakure. The Raikage suspects it's someone from Konoha. Be on your guard at all times." He said quietly just for me to hear.

Walking forward was hard, but looking back was even worse. Mama waved one final time, giving me her usual bright, kind smile. I almost felt like tearing up, but I couldn't afford to. I'd start crying. About five miles into my journey, I was stopped by a toad. I got out a kunai to attack in case it tried something. "Don't touch me! I'm here on Jiraiya's orders."

"I see."

"I'm here to escort you. My name is Gamakichi."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ellie. So, what are we looking out for?" We started walking.

"Anyone suspicious I guess. I heard Jiraiya said something about how the shinobi smells sweet to entice women."

"I see." I said with a neutral expression.

"It's alright to be scared. I'll protect you." The toad said.

"I'm not scared. I'm just being lazy and don't want to walk all the way to Kumogakure." Gamakichi started laughing before growing in size.

"Jump in my mouth and I'll have you there in a month."

"That's disgusting, but if I don't have to walk all that way there, I'm game!" I jumped in and felt warm. I didn't mind the slime after a couple seconds. I wasn't that picky. I couldn't afford to be.

When I came to, I was lying on the ground in the dark. "What?" I sat up and couldn't tell where I was. I looked around and couldn't find Gamakichi.

"Are you alright?" I looked and saw some ANBU. They were surrounding a small fire.

"Can you tell me where I am?" I asked.

"You're about thirty miles away from Konoha. We're near the border of the land of hot water." I stood up and stretched.

"Thanks." I started walking away.

"Why don't you stay the night with us? We'll keep an eye out for you. Plus, we have food."

"You convinced me." One of the men chuckled. Why did it sound familiar? I sat near the fire and examined the ANBU. They looked plain and undistinguishable.

"Did you lose your way from your team?" One of them asked.

"I don't have one."

"Aren't you just a genin?" He asked.

"It has nothing to do with ANBU, if that's who you really are." I said with narrowed eyes.

"Do you not trust us? We're from the same village."

"I doubt it."

"Why?" I giggled lightly.

"Where are you all from? Why don't you tell me before I end up slipping?" The four tensed up.

"We're from Konoha. We swear!" I pulled out my tanto.

"Then answer me this. How do you know I'm a genin? I could be a chunin for all you know."

"W-well…"

"Spill it." I demanded with my kekkei genkai.

"The hokage told us to look out for a blue haired genin." They said against their will.

"Oh? If he told you, why did you ask if I lost my team?"

"Genin are always in a team." One replied nervously.

"That's not always true." I taunted lightly, flipping the tanto. "Will you lift your mask to prove your existence?" I asked.

"That's against the rules."

"And if I take them off?" I suggested.

"We won't allow you." I chuckled, making them tense up even more.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if the wind just blew them off?" Then, a bowl of soup was presented to me.

"You seem like you're hungry."

"I am." I stuck my finger in it and couldn't detect anything. None of them questioned me.

"Do you still trust us?"

"Not at all." I started eating the soup.

"We could have poisoned the soup."

"If I die, I die with a full stomach. The soup sucks by the way. It could use salt."

"We eat to replenish nutrients and not for taste." One said.

"Why? I'd rather die than eat bland food. Just a little bit of salt won't kill you. It isn't that expensive or hard." I finished my bowl and stood up.

"You're leaving? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'll be just fine. Besides, I need to find a toad and wring his neck for leaving me by myself." I walked away and got into a tree to sleep. I could still see the ANBU from afar.

"What a strange girl."

"She's cute." The group nodded.

"Strange and cute."

"It's nice to see our cute genins actually be weary of everyone."

"She still ate the soup."

"She might have some super power to detect poison."

I took out a blanket and wrapped it around myself in a way I wouldn't fall out of the trees. Well, unless you're like me and forgot to tie one little thing to the tree, you'd still be in the tree. I had to wake up on the ground, yelling, and with a semi-dislocated shoulder. "My shoulder!" I shouted. This caught the ANBU. They came running over.

"Are you alright? We thought you left." I bit my lip with tears.

"My shoulder…" I whimpered. One of them came over and put it back in place. I yelled and kicked one of the ANBU. "I'm sorry, but that really hurt." I fell onto my hands and knees.

"That was one hell of a kick." I stood up and groaned.

"This is just great. Day number two and I already did something stupid. And imagine I have possibly more than a year of this." I muttered to myself.

"You're on a mission for a year?" One of them asked with shock.

"A year, two years, maybe three, maybe forever, I don't know. It'll take at least a year."

"That's rough." Another said.

"You think that's rough? Imagine becoming a genin and having this damn mission. It really sucks. Anyone who'll attack me isn't going to survive my wrath."

"Be safe out there. There's an A-ranked missing nin out there."

"Great. Maybe I can wring his neck too and get rich." I laughed to myself and walked away. "Another fucking day, another fucking year! I'm already tired of this!"


End file.
